


Prelude to a Prophecy

by kimbert



Series: Symphony of Prophecies [1]
Category: Shall We Date?: Obey Me!
Genre: Adult Language, And by "it" you know what I mean, Angst, Drinking, Eventual Sex, Fluff, Humor, MC overly attached to her shoes, Minor Character Death, Multi, Of course the butler did it, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Relationship(s), Pining, Slight Non-Con Elements, Sort of AU adjacent, obeyMAX challenge, obeymeseven, rating for future chapters, short story part of bigger story, will update relationship tags as we go
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:47:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 28
Words: 62,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25016488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimbert/pseuds/kimbert
Summary: An AU where the exchange program was for all the wrong reasons, and the fall out from a misread prophecy.Using #obeyMAX and #obeymeseven as chapter prompts
Relationships: Asmodeus (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Barbatos (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Beelzebub (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Belphegor (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Leviathan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Lucifer/Original Female Character(s), Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Everyone, Mammon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Satan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Symphony of Prophecies [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1863181
Comments: 131
Kudos: 230
Collections: Symphony of Prophecies





	1. Day 1: Demon

_Rainy funerals are such a cliche_ , she mused, _but it seems to fit the mood_. She was dressed in what she privately called her Mysterious Mourner Funeral Uniform: black Louboutin stilettos, black pencil skirt, white blouse. Not that you could see the blouse under her black trench coat, which was fastened and belted tightly at her waist, but she knew it was there and that was what mattered. A large black umbrella, dark sunglasses, and leather gloves not only completed the outfit, but were an important part of the story. She stepped out of her car and walked unhurriedly across the well-kept grass of the cemetery to the graveside service.

She slowed her steps when she saw a man standing under a tree, shoulders hunched up to his ears. If his signature brown and white jacket didn’t give him away, his shock of white hair certainly did. He looked both miserable and out of place, but the humans didn’t notice him. 

They never did, not really.

She approached him and held her umbrella over his head. He looked up at her, his expression blank. 

“He was the last of ‘em, you know,” he said. “He was a good guy. Good enough that even I..” he choked a bit. “..even I loved ‘im. He was actually worth my time, ya know.”

“I know,” she replied. This is the fiftieth funeral she’s attended as the Demon Prince’s representative, and the white haired demon lord standing under her umbrella had been at all of them. 

He took a shuddering breath, dragging his hands down his face. “My brothers don’t remember ‘em all that well. What’s a year to us, right? All these stupid humans, most of ‘em got a year with us. Not even a blip on their radar anymore.” He leaned his head back against the tree, looking up at the underside of her umbrella. 

She said nothing, but stood as silent witness to his grief. He wouldn’t admit it, but the reason why he remembered all of his humans so well was due to his Greed. He wanted all of them, all to himself, for all time. Down to their souls, their futures, their hearts. 

The humans that made it through (aka: survived) the now-defunct exchange program certainly benefited from having the Avatar of Greed as their patron, even as they slowly forgot about him. Every single one of the survivors died with a financial legacy that their heirs would long fight over. She had her doubts about the longevity of the wealth, since the seed money was sponsored by Greed. She doubted even he realized that he would be getting repaid slowly by the unfettered avarice of the heirs of Lilith.

He straightened up and stared across the lawn to the service. He never got any closer than this, he didn’t want anyone to question his presence. The deceased was an eighty-five year old man, with a spouse, kids, grandkids, the whole bit. No one needed to see an attractive strange young man hanging around. The family more or less knew her, or knew of her. The Prince tasked her with tracking and monitoring the former exchange students, after all. It was easier if she showed up every few years as a person from “The Agency.” 

Humans didn’t tend to question official looking people who work for Agencies. Even if there is no Agency to speak of. 

“Hey,” he started, never moving his eyes from the service in front of them. “You’re human, right?”

She smiled sadly, glad for the dark sunglasses that hid her eyes. She knew this question was coming, although she’s a little surprised it took this long. 

“I used to be, is a better way to put it, I guess.” The crowd was starting to break up, people drifting back to their cars in twos and threes. The deceased’s adult children nodded to her as they walked past, escorting the elderly widow. There was a wake at a different place, but she and the man standing next to her would not be attending. They never did. 

The man waited until the graveside was clear of mourners, clergy, and cemetery staff, then he approached the casket. She followed, holding her umbrella to cover them both. 

He stood, hands shoved in his pockets, his face looking down on the casket. He sighed. 

“I don’t know why I even come to these stupid things, the stupid humans didn’t even remember me after a couple o’ years.” She pretends not to notice the single tear rolling down his cheek. “And this guy, d’ya know he once took a swing at my big bro? Just cause he insulted me too many times. Fuckin’ moron. Stupid human.” Another tear dropped. “Why’d he do somethin’ stupid like that? I coulda handled it.” She stood with him, a silent witness to a grief he never meant to share. 

After a time, he gathered himself together and looked at her. Really looked at her. 

“Now I’m not gonna thank ya for comin’ to all o’ these things. I know it’s your job and all. But ya didn’t have to stand next to me at every single one, an’ ya have.” He cocked his head to the side. “I’m not going to tell ya I appreciate it or anythin’...” he stopped, glancing away for a moment. When he looked back, she was startled by the intense look in his eye. 

“Actually, yeah, I am gonna thank ya for that.”

He reached out to touch her arm, and she stepped back, apologetically. He flushed. “Sorry, I forgot.”

“It’s ok,” she assured him, “you didn’t do anything wrong.” _Don’t ask, don’t ask, don’t ask, she thought to herself._

“You ever gonna tell anyone why you won’t let anyone touch ya?” He asked. 

Fuck. He asked. 

_Not just anyone,_ she thought. _Just you and your brothers._

“Lord Diavolo knows, and I’m not allowed to say more.” The practiced answer falls easily from her lips. It’s been almost 120 years, after all. It’s not like the answer is going to change anytime soon. 

He nods, accepting the answer. It’s never changed, not since she showed up at court as Lord Diavolo’s human liaison. He takes one last glance at the casket, sighs, then turns to leave. “If ya wanna hitch a ride through the portal, I’m headed there now.”

She shakes her head, and smiles. “No thanks, I have to get this car back to the drop point.” 

He nods again, and walks away, not looking back. She stands next to the casket a bit longer, at least until he’s out of sight. Once he’s gone, she heads back to the car. 

She folds her umbrella down, and tugs her gloves off as she enters the driver’s seat. She grabs her D.D.D. and sends a quick text. “It’s over.” She tosses it onto the passenger seat, and as she puts the key in the ignition, she hears a ding.

She turns the car on and grabs the D.D.D. “Stay alert, the time is near.” She rolls her eyes. The time has been near forever now. She’s halfway convinced it was never going to happen.

She puts the car into drive, and pulls out of the parking spot. She had about an hour to get to the drop point, and she wants to focus on enjoying the human realm while she drives there. 

Too bad it always rains at funerals.


	2. Day 2: Angel

She pulled the car up to the drop point, which was a warehouse in an industrial park just outside the city limits. She grabbed her D.D.D. and entered in the door code. The warehouse door rolled open and she drove straight in.

As she drove in, she felt the tell-tale shiver of magic dancing over her skin. In just moments, the interior of the warehouse went from an empty wasteland to a bustling hub akin to an airport. Demons and angels alike hustled back and forth, preparing Human Realm goods for transport to both the Celestial Realm and the Devildom. 

She smoothly drove the car to the designated area, and got out, tossing the keys to the demon manning the area. He scanned her D.D.D. to prove her identity, and waved her away.

There was an awful lot of commotion going on at the portal to Celestial Realm, she noticed, and decided that it was best that she keep her head down and walk quickly to the Devildom portal. She did not want to attract angelic attention.

Especially since most of the angels she knew were mostly assholes. And as she was based in the Devildom, she knew her share of assholes.

She started walking quickly across the tarmac, trying to keep her heels from clipping too loudly. She was halfway to her goal when a booming voice sounded out.

“JEN. STOP.” 

_Fuuuuuuuuuuck,_ she thought. _I bet I can make it to the portal if I sprint._

Almost as if sensing her thoughts (and she wouldn’t put it past them, the sneaky bastards), a large body landed right in front of her, blocking her path. She didn’t want to look up, she didn’t want to make eye contact, she just wanted to report back to the Council and go home. She didn’t need the angels and their bullshit today. 

But what she wanted to do didn’t matter, because the angel in front of her could care less. When she continued to avert her eyes, the angel commanded, “You will look at me as I speak to you” 

She swallowed a groan and met the angel’s eyes. The last thing she wanted to do was cause a multiplane incident. The angel’s hard expression almost made her quake in her favorite Louboutins, but she’s seen worse. She held his gaze, and silently demanded that he speak. She was no coward, and was not one to stand down from a challenge. Even if it was fucking _Michael_.

The Archangel, the Voice of God, The Hander-Downer of Unjust Sentences from God Himself.

Not that she was bitter or anything. 

He continued to stare at her, angry at her inner defiance, but unable to address it, because she was careful only to show respect on the outside. She decided that she got tired of the staring.

“Hello, Michael. It’s weird to see you here at the port. Seems beneath your notice.” She was careful to stand up straight and keep her expression neutral. While the work around them did not stop, they were obviously being watched, and she could count on a summons from the Council as soon as she landed in Devildom. The last thing she needed today was another screaming match with the council VP. 

Michael noticed all of the indirect/direct attention they were drawing, and quickly gestured for Jen to follow him to a nearby office. _Of course he assumes I’ll follow him,_ she silently fumes, _lord forbid someone disobey the great Archangel himself. I should just walk away, to the portal, right now._

Instead, she follows him, because while Jen was a lot of things, stupid wan’t one of them. 

Michael is dressed in a human suit, she notices, as she steps into the office and closes the door. _He must have been mucking about in human politics again._ He leaned his hips against the desk in the room, and crossed his arms. He arched a perfect eyebrow at her, and waited. 

God, he was pretty. She works with prettier, though, and was immune to his charms. So she told herself.

“What do you want, Michael?” she sighed, sinking down into the office’s guest chair. Yes, this put her below him, but she’s learned that there is nothing that arrogant, powerful men hate more than a woman who is comfortable in their presence. No matter the species, assholes were assholes.

He visibly collected himself ( _HA!_ she thought), and started talking at her. Not with her, _at her_. She was not worth a conversation to him, she figured.

“It has come to my attention that the last of the Lilith Candidates was laid to rest today. I want to know your intentions now that the Devildom doesn’t need you for tracking them anymore.”

Huh. She wasn’t expecting that. “What difference does that make to you at all? Lord Diavolo has guaranteed my presence at his Court, and that’s all you need to know.” 

He ran his fingers through his hair, shocking her. Michael never let himself be seen as less than perfectly calm. Ever. And the Michael in front of her right now may as well have been screaming in frustration.

He sighed. “I need to know that you are going to abide by the rules. There’s more hinging on this than you realize.” He dropped his head. “Jen, I can’t lose another one.”  
Holy shit. 

She gasped, her eyes large. Panic started to overtake her. “It’s not… not…”

Michael shook his head. “No, not them. Uriel for sure. Maybe Simeon. He’s always danced on the ledge anyway.” He lifted his head, and his eyes met hers. She could see the sadness, the deep weariness. Michael was tired, and soul sad.

She was a little bit ashamed for thinking he was a total asshole. He was an asshole to her, but he loved everyone else. He just showed it by being an overbearing autocrat.

She took a breath. “I see no need to ignore the rules now. Nothing has changed on that front,” she said, sadly.

Michael looked at the woman in the chair. His heart privately broke for her, knowing the literal hell the Father is putting her through. On the outside, she appeared as any healthy human woman in her twenties would. On the inside, though, beat the heart of a woman cursed for the past 120 years, for crimes that any other entity other than the Father would forgive. She was 45 years old when the curse hit, into her middle age and happy in her comfortable life. Part of her curse was eternal youth and immortality, so she could watch everything around her grow old, shrivel, and die. It was the reason behind the curse that was why he was having problems keeping the choirs together.

Michael never questioned his Father, ever, but he understood why the others did.

As for the rest of the curse, well, he could see an upside to it, even if she couldn’t yet.

Michael smiled softly at her (blowing her mind once again). “Be patient. The time is drawing near.”

She rolled her eyes. “Sure it is. I’m sure everything will be great. The Great Annunciation will come.” She stood abruptly.

“I need to go. You have my word that I will never step foot in the Celestial Realm.” She grabbed the door handle, paused, and looked over her shoulder at the Archangel. “I am aware that doing so shall be considered an act of war. Don’t worry, I’m not dumb. I’m not going to condemn three realms just to piss off one.” She turned the handle and exited the office, leaving Michael to his thoughts.

She once again started walking to the Devildom portal, not caring how her heels sounded now. 

She was so focused on her objective, that she was startled when she felt a presence walking alongside her. She glanced up quickly, and smiled at her companion.  
Simeon smiled at Jen, kindness personified. _If all angels were like Simeon,_ she mused, _I would have a much bigger problem staying out of the Celestial Realm than I do now._

“Hello, Jen,” greeted the angel. “I see that you’ve had the fortune of a one on one meeting with my boss.” His eyes turned even kinder, as his smile dropped a little. “I hear the last one was laid to rest today. I liked him. He was a good man. He’ll enjoy his rest. He’s earned it.” He continued to walk with her to the portal, sensing that she was anxious to get to the Devildom.

She glanced at Simeon from under her eyelashes. “He’s scared you are going to Fall. You and Uriel.”

Simeon busted out a hearty laugh. “Not me! I enjoy the dance too much. He has no need to worry about the one angel he has that understands nuance!” He chuckled to himself, and she smiled at his words.

“What about Uriel, though?” she asked, concerned.

Simeon sobered up immediately. “Maybe. It’s too close to call right now.” They arrived at the portal, and they queued up to wait for her turn to use it. He stared thoughtfully at the busy demons working in the port. “I think you can expect a visit from him soon. He’s going to need your insight, before he makes any choices.”

She snorted, “You mean make any mistakes.”

He smiled gently at her. He reached out to touch a lock of her hair, but glanced around as he remembered, and dropped his hand. “No, I mean choices. Others have made the choice to Fall, and it’s the trauma of the Fall that they think defines them. They forget the lives they now live, and the choices and mistakes they’re allowed to make. Allowed to make. They have a freedom they don’t appreciate yet, but they will.” He bowed slightly toward her, as it was now her turn at the portal. 

“As always, a delight to chat with you, my dear,” he winked at her, knowing he was leaving her with too many questions.

“I’ll see you later,” she replied dryly. She should have known better than to talk to angels today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized that I have overused the word "asshole" in this chapter. I'm always down for alternatives, if you'd like to comment.


	3. Lucifer

As expected, a summons from the Council awaited her when she appeared on the Devildom side of the portal. She took the note from the Little D, and made certain to thank it politely. 

The Little D made a pleased sort of chortling sound as it stood on its head. It made no move to leave, though, which meant it was under orders to escort her to the council. 

She sighed. That meant that someone had their panties in a twist, and that the rest of her day was going to suck. 

She and the Little D moved from the dock portal into the receiving warehouse. They wove their way through the absolute chaos of unorganized goods and demons, toward an office near an exterior wall. 

Council summons or not, the law must be followed. 

Jen knocked on the office door and a low-ranking demon opened the door. He hissed at the Little D, but it just chortled at him and danced around her ankles. It knew no lower demon dared mess with it. Little Ds were the eyes and ears of the Council, in addition to being messengers. What they saw, the Council saw. 

The demon looked at Jen and ushered her into a cluttered office, the furniture reminding her of a human’s first solo apartment. Everything looked to be scavenged from the dumpster of a charity thrift shop (and honestly, it probably was). Reggach belonged to a lower order of demons that wasn’t tied to a sin, so any wealth they obtained tended to be hoarded for political favors and not spent on frivolous things, like office furniture. He gestured for Jen to take a seat on a stool perched in front of a desk made out of a door and two sawhorses. 

He circled around and took his own seat behind his desk, and it tilted ominously to one side. Reggach smiled at her and took a form from a shelf behind him. 

“Jen, always a delight to have you in my humble office,” he began. “Let’s get your intake form handled and sent off to that miserable bastard.” She cleared her throat delicately, her eyes shifting to the Little D, who had ceased dancing and was staring unnervingly at the demon. 

Reggach laughed. “That old bird knows I fucking can’t stand him. It would be weird if I didn’t insult him.” He grabbed a pen from the coffee can nailed to the side of his desk. He started filling out the form. “Alright, we have human Jen, returning from the Human Realm. Your primary residence is in the Devildom, in the Palace complex. Why did you decide to take the shipping portal instead of the Palace portal?”

She sat smartly on her stool. “I needed a car on the other side.” 

Reggath continued writing, a flick of his pointed ear the only sign that he heard her. After a couple of more minutes, he hummed and signed the form. He spun the form around on the desk and handed her the pen to affix her signature at the bottom. Once they both signed, there was a flare of magic as the document sealed itself. 

The Little D made grabby hands at the paper, but Reggath snorted. “Nope. This has to go through all the channels before he gets it. _All of the channels_. Those are his rules, he knows that.” He tipped a wink Jen’s direction, as the Little D made grumbly sounds. 

He stood and motioned for Jen to do so as well. “It’s always great to see you, you should come by the place and see the spawn. You haven’t been by for ages, and they changed so much now. They’re starting to get toes!”

Jen made eye contact and nodded slowly. “It has been a long time then! The last time I was there, they were still budding.” Reggath gave a small smile, acknowledging the counter sign. 

Reggath opened the door to the office for her, and she exited the office, the Little D turning cartwheels around her ankles. 

“That’s a dangerous place to play, kiddo,” she told it. “I might step on you!” It chattered at her in utter nonsense, likely assuring her that it would come to no harm. 

The two of them made their way out of the warehouse complex, stopping several times to chat with familiar faces. Jen had been in the Devildom long enough for the lower demons to register her existence, and she liked their unpretentiousness and rough manners. She never felt unsafe, because her soul was not attractive to demons, being all muddled and cloudy, thanks to her curse. They liked her because of her personality, friendliness, and her unsnobbish way of accepting everyone. 

In short, she felt more human here than topside. 

Once out on the main road, she pulled on the silver chain around her neck. A small whistle hung on it. The Little D whimpered. She looked at it from the corner of her eye. “You can suck it up, or you can go on ahead. But you know this is the fastest way for me to get there.” The Little D chattered a second, then in the fluid way of its kind, folded in on itself and disappeared. She chuckled. 

Jen put the whistle to her lips and blew. No noise came from the whistle, but an eerie howl sounded that seemed to stop all ambient noise in its tracks. A second later, a terrifying creature from a living nightmare appeared. 

A creature that was only slightly based on a dog, but larger than a pickup truck stood before her. Its back hunched like a hyena, spikes along its hackles. Its claws dug into the ground, each claw longer than her forearm. Its fur, if you could call it that, was the color of midnight with no moon. Its eyes red as fire. Its drool…

“Seriously, drool?!” She asked, exasperated. The hellhound whimpered, and shook itself thoroughly. The drool landed on some nearby structures and they immediately started melting from the acid. As it shook, it shrank in size, until it became the size of a very large German Shepherd. 

“Oh, Ajax, your so cuuuuute,” Jen coo’d over the hellhound. He fell to his back, shamelessly begging for tummy rubs. She obliged, and he sighed with contentment. She didn’t see the nearby demons look at her with awe. 

Hellhounds ATE demons. And here was a weak human, scritching its belly.

She stood with a sigh. “Well, bud, I need to get to the Council chambers ASAP. Can I hitch a ride?”

Ajax jumped to his feet, his doggie face grinning. He shook himself and he grew to the size of a horse. She grabbed a handful of his fur, and hauled herself up on his back, sitting side-saddle, because of her tight pencil skirt. 

She had barely gotten settled on his back, when he howled that eerie howl of his and took off via the magic that hellhounds possess. In a blink of an eye, they had arrived at RAD. 

She slid down his back, landing on her toes. She scratched him on his head, thanking him. “I won’t need you for a bit, but I bet Barbatos has a fire going in my rooms if you want to rest there.” 

He snuffled her hair affectionately, howled, and disappeared. She was pretty sure he was headed to her suite, but she wouldn’t put it past him to go begging in the kitchens first. 

She took off her trench coat and folded it neatly over her arm. She made sure her skirt was straight, and that her blouse was fully buttoned. She doubted the whole Council was in session right now, which meant she would be dealing with the chief dickhead himself. 

It was best to start off of any meeting with _him_ with zero insecurities. 

She walked into the front door of the building and took a sharp right. The Council chamber was down an intimidatingly long hallway, lined with portraits of deep seated fears, temptations, and sin. 

It was a hallway designed to make you honest, to make you acknowledge your weaknesses, to lay you bare before the council. 

She reached the end of the hallway, and approached the giant double doors. The Little D had met her there, and this time he had friends. The whole cadre of Little Ds pushed the door open, and she walked confidently to the center of the room. 

As she thought, there was only one occupant.

_SUCH a shit head,_ she thought. 

At the front of the room, on a raised platform, there was a row of seven throne-like chairs. Behind and above them all was an actual throne, which lay empty at the moment. 

Her focus was on the man in the center of the seven seats. 

He stared at her, impassively. His dark hair artfully tousled, his uniform perfect. Humans didn’t tend to describe men as beautiful, but he was achingly so. 

_Too bad he fucking knew it._

She stared back, knowing how to play his game after a hundred-something years. She let no emotion leak through, no sign of insecurity.

He spoke. “Is there a reason that you are not in uniform, Jen?” He was digging for a weak spot in her psych. 

She replied, “I understood that you requested to see me immediately. I felt any delay on my part would be a great inconvenience on your time.” She made sure she felt no impatience, no frustration. Just stating a fact. 

He leaned back slightly. “How was the funeral?”

She did not relax her posture. She knew his tricks. 

“This one was nice. He turned out to be a good man. I’m not too crazy about his family, but they’ll be sorted soon enough.” She waited for his reply. She wondered if he remembered this one well. As VP of the council, he was kept aware of how the exchange students were doing in the human realm, but she has a feeling that he only remembers them in an academic sense. 

Not the deep grief his brother feels when one of them dies. 

He surprised her by lifting a corner of his mouth. “Is this the one that once tried to assault me on Mammon’s behalf?” At her nod, he continued. “He was always too compassionate for his own good.”

He put his elbow on the arm of his chair and rested his chin on his knuckles. 

_Here it comes,_ she thought. 

He smirked, making his beautiful face turn into a work of erotic art. “Did Simeon confirm that he was on his way up?”

_And there it is._

She internally rolled her eyes, making sure to keep her emotions in check. “Yes, Simeon did say that he will enjoy his rest.”

Lucifer dropped his arm, and leaned forward. “And what did Michael have to say?” His eyes flashed with anger. “I hope you remembered where your loyalties lie, human.”

_Ok, now the dance begins._

She centered herself, pulling her shoulders back. “My loyalties are my own. The agreement I have with Lord Diavolo doesn’t include you. What Michael and I talked about is none of your business. If anything he said had anything to do with you, I still wouldn’t tell you.” She steeled herself for his anger. This is a fight that she’s fought often. She doesn’t always win, but she never makes it easy. 

He flashed into his demon form, wings flaring in anger, eyes glowing.

“Oh, stop it,” she said, dismissively, waving her hand. “I can’t hurt you, and you’re not allowed to touch me.” She tossed her trenchcoat to one of the Little Ds floating about. “Can you please take that to my rooms?” she asked it, politely. It chattered at her and folded in on itself, taking her coat with it. She looked at a different one, and just as politely asked for a chair. It disappeared and arrived almost in the same moment, hauling forth a small chair. She drug it over to the platform, placed it directly in front of Lucifer’s chair and sat down. 

He growled at her audacity, but she noticed his red eyes glowed a bit as he fed on the little bit of pride she presented him. She hoped that was enough of an offering to open the conversation. 

He calmed himself and flashed back into his first form, not a button out of place. _Excellent,_ she thought. 

“I am aware that Diavolo has you working on other projects, so I know you won’t be leaving the Devildom just because the exchange students are now all dead. But this does free up a considerable amount of your time. What are your plans?” It was as if his fit of temper never happened. 

She snorted. He had no idea what Lord Diavolo had her working on, and he had no idea how much of her time the exchange students took up. She knew that drove his control-freak nature crazy. 

In short, he was fishing. 

“I will continue on as I have. If I come across anything that you should know about, I’ll let you know,” she lied. She would never let him know directly. She always worked through channels. 

She swore she could see him grind his teeth. The two of them have never seen eye-to-eye on anything, but because of that, they treated each other with a wary respect. Tempers flare, of course, it was the Devildom, after all. 

“That is acceptable,” he ground out, as if the words caused him physical pain. 

She nodded, and did her best to quell the flare of victory that popped up. No need to rub his nose in it after all. She stood. “I’ll be in the Palace for the next few days, should you need me.”

He sighed. “I doubt that I will, but thank you.”

She gestured politely to the waiting Little D and had it remove the chair. She walked to the exit, so intent on leaving that she almost missed the soft question. 

“Was he there?”

She paused, hand on the door. She didn’t turn around as she answered. “Yes, as always.”

She had to strain her ears to hear the next statement, and when she heard it, her heart almost broke for him. 

“Thank you for being there for him, when I could not.”

She lowered her head and left the room.


	4. Mammon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flashbacks incoming!

_About one hundred, thirteen years ago (or there about)_

It was inevitable, really. They were just lucky it hasn’t happened before. And by all accounts, this creature absolutely deserved it. 

It was the sixth year of the Exchange Program, and while the first five candidates didn’t work out, they at least survived. 

This year’s subject, well, she didn’t. And it was entirely her own fault. She was caught red-handed participating in a conspiracy to take down Lord Diavolo, acting as a spy in the House of Lamentation and reporting back to a cadre of demon nobles. Belphegor had killed her, brutally, to protect his brothers. 

Jen had used her contacts with the lower demons and her Human Realm skills to compile the evidence, and Asmodeus had confirmed it on his end with the nobles (not that he knew about Jen’s team). Once everything had been presented to the Council, the execution order was handed down, and Belphegor had volunteered to do the deed, as he had not spent as much time with the human and wasn’t as attached. 

The execution went off without a hitch, and the demon nobles involved had fled. Belphegor and Satan were hot on their trail, and everyone was sure that justice would be served shortly. 

It fell to Jen to contain the fallout from the humans, a task she dreaded, but had agreed to when the Exchange Program was developed. She had pointed out that humans were pretty fragile, emotionally, and would need a support system when they went back topside. The Council also needed to have a plan in place to cover any fatalities. Lord Diavolo listened to the points she made, smiled a huge smile, and said, “WONDERFUL idea, Jen! Thanks for taking care of that!”

Jen would never forget the smug smile on Lucifer's face when that happened. 

Jen was in the Palace library, the morning of the execution, building a false dossier to give to the traitor’s family. It included false transcripts, doctored photos, a letter of condolence, a false cause of death (hiking on volcanos was so risky) and a sizable monetary contribution to the memorial fund. In Jen’s experience, money went a long way to soothing an angry family, in any situation. 

She was just finishing up, when heavy footsteps came up behind her. She turned her head to say hi, and her words froze in her throat. 

Standing there, in his demon form, was a grief-stricken Mammon. She stood abruptly, unsure how to approach him. Under normal circumstances, she’d offer a hug, but she’s unable to touch him. 

He acted as if he didn’t see her, but he decided to sit at her table. He collapsed into his chair, and stared at nothing. 

Deciding that she could at least lend an ear if he needed to talk, she lowered herself back onto her chair, and busied her hands with straightening the papers in front of her and building the file. She figured she could wait until he talked. 

Mammon was devastated. He was picked to be each exchange students’ “first demon” for a reason. Through his extensive network with the witches, he was considered the Devildom’s ambassador for the Human Realm. He knew humans better than any demon created, and better than most angels. He adored every human he’s worked with, and never hesitated to grant his pact.

He’s grieving because he saw this coming. 

He felt Kelsey’s greed spike in the last few weeks, felt her satisfaction, felt her desire for more. Felt her anger when she was denied what she felt she was entitled to, felt her turn too far down the path of sin. 

And he never stopped her. 

Instead, he fed off of it like the parasite he was. He even rationalized it, by telling himself that she was doing this all on her own, that he wasn’t feeding into it. 

He could have stopped it, he thinks. 

He doesn’t realize that he said that part out loud, until he hears a woman speak. 

“No, you couldn’t have stopped her. You could have _delayed_ her, sure. But her heart and soul had been corrupted long ago. She made her choices. This is on her.” The woman sitting at the table looked at him with compassion in her eyes. “That’s the bitch of the thing about humans,” she continued, “we’re stubborn to fault and lose our faith too easily.”

Mammon studied the woman, noting how old she spoke but how young she looked. She reminded him of the witches he worked with, but without the magic aura. He noticed that even here in the warm library, she wore long sleeves and gloves. He remembered her aversion to touching anyone, and wondered what had happened to this perfectly normal looking human that Lord Diavolo had brought to Court a few years ago. 

Judging by her muddy soul, something horrific. 

“It doesn’t make her choices hurt us any less,” she said, “but it should make the burden a little easier to carry.”

Mammon snorted. “Stupid humans, is what you’re sayin?”

They both chuckle, since that’s a phrase they’re both used to saying in their professional lives. 

“Listen,” she said, catching his attention. “I have to go pack up her personal things and get them ready to go to her family. Would you like to help? You can keep anything you need. I just need enough to give her family the idea that we treated everything with respect.”

Mammon leaned back in his chair and looked to the ceiling. He ran his hands down his face, and groaned. “That’s the last thing I need right now, but grab me any cash you see.”

She laughed, and he startled. _She sounds like bells_ , he thought. He studied her again, noticing the shine of her hair and the dimple in her cheek. _I wonder…_

Their conversation was interrupted by a discreet throat clearing cough. They looked to the door and saw Lord Diavolo’s butler and assistant, Barbatos. 

“My Lord and Lady, pardon for the interruption. My Lady, could you please accompany me to Lord Diavolo’s office, he wishes to discuss the plans you have for Kelsey’s family,” he bowed low as he addressed them. 

“Of course, Barbatos, one moment.” She stood, gathering her things. She walked by Mammon, and said softly, “I’m sorry, Mammon. I know you were starting to love her.” She didn’t wait for an answer and walked past Barbatos and through the open door. 

Barbatos gave Mammon a keen look, before he bowed and shut the library door behind him. 

Mammon took a moment to wonder about that look, before he stretched his whole body in a satisfying bone-popping crack. He was faintly surprised that he was still in his demon form. He gave himself a little shake, and settled into his everyday form. 

Maybe he should go find a blackjack game somewhere. 

Spirits rising at the possibility of a good greed hit, he started whistling on his way out of the library, the previous conversation almost forgotten. 

Almost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick one this time.


	5. Leviathan

_80 years ago, more or less_

Time is slippery between the three realms. They more or less follow the same timeline, but due to the magic in the Devildom and the miracles in the Celestial Realm, understanding time can be an exercise in futility. 

Jen’s learning to adapt, slowly. She is starting to think that she has the hang of it now. 

It all hinges on demons and angels who are able to see pieces of the timelines. They feed the culture of the respective realms, and that’s how there seems to be a thriving anime, manga, and video game industry in the Devildom that is hundreds of years old. 

She hums to herself as she begins to finally unpack her things from the Human Realm. Barbatos has told her that she isn’t going anywhere, and she might as well go through all of the boxes that are clogging up one of his storage rooms. 

It’s only been a few decades, give or take. And in her defense, she didn’t expect to be assigned rooms in the Palace, expecting instead to find her own home eventually on the outer rim of the city, where the everyday folk live. When she had given Barb that excuse, he gave her a look, and explained that she is now not only a noble, but a cherished friend and advisor to the Crown Prince. _Of course_ she lives in the Palace. 

Cracking open boxes to only discover that she was probably going to need to borrow a Little D or two, since she was going to have to get rid of a ton of unnecessary items. Who needs kitchen supplies from Target when you have the realm’s best chefs cooking with their own tools?

Actually, that gave her an idea. She was often out in the layers and outskirts of Hell, exploring and making contacts for what she privately called her side-gig. Human Realm goods were worth more than gold out there, commanding loyalty and sealing agreements. She’ll use her things to make the deals and keep them off the official books. 

Barb was just going to have to live with some of her stuff in storage. 

She put her kitchen stuff to the side and grabbed a box labeled “living room”. Opening it, she saw a picture of a young girl, with little pig tails curled above her ears. Shocked, she slammed the box shut again, grief threatening to attack her. She took some shallow breaths, and reminded herself over and over, that the little girl wasn’t dead. 

Just out of her reach. 

She immediately moved that box to the side, mentally marking that one to go to her suite. No need to sob in what was basically a public storage unit. 

She grabbed the next box, labeled “electronics”. Distractedly, she opened it, and found a treasure trove of video games and consoles. She grinned, she knew just who would want to look at these. She set these aside for her next trip to the House of Lamentation. She was due to go there tomorrow to check on the current exchange student. 

She sent a text to Barbatos asking if he could send a couple of Little D’s her way, and to let him know she was almost done. 

The demon popped down himself to supervise the Little D’s, which surprised her. When she told him that he didn’t have to help, he sighed politely, and once again reminded her that she was a member of the Court, and that it was his duty to help her. 

She doubted that, actually, but kept it to herself. 

The next day, she asked a Little D to carry the box with electronics to the House of Lamentation. She needed to introduce herself to the new exchange student, as they just started yesterday. The first week is pretty disorienting, and having a human point of contact tends to ground them.

She walked into the House, not bothering to knock. She’s learned that if she didn’t bully herself in once and awhile, the Brothers forget that she’s required to check in. 

And of course, she walked into chaos. 

“MAMMON, YOU SCUM! GIVE ME BACK MY MONEY!!!!” The dulcet tones of the otaku she’s been thinking about reverberate throughout the entrance hall. She saw a cowering human hiding behind a smirking Mammon. 

_Well shit,_ she thought. 

“I don’t owe you nothin’, you hermit! And anyway, I’m fuckin’ broke! I got nothin’ for ya!” Mammon noticed her in the entryway and caught her eye. He slid his eyes to the human and back to her, making sure she caught the hint. She nodded. 

“YOU OWE ME 1350 GRIMM AND I WANT IT RIGHT NOW!!!” The owner of the voice, a purple haired young man, appeared on the landing above the foyer. He grasped the railing and leaned over to yell at Mammon even louder. He caught sight of Jen, and his eyes widened at her. 

She lifted her head in acknowledgment, and walked over to the new human. She laid her hand on their shoulder, and introduced herself. “Hi there, I’m Jen, your human liaison. You’re Alex, right? Why don’t we go to the library and I’ll explain how I can help you over the next year.” She guided the student toward the library, and away from the shouting demons in the entry hall. And freeing them up for action in the meantime. 

To outsiders, it would seem that Leviathan hated Mammon, and that Mammon stole from his brothers. 

This is by design. 

When the Exchange Program was being developed, and it was decided that the human would be housed with the Brothers, there needed to be a way for the Brothers to continue the work of the realm, but discreetly. The students and nobles alike needed to think that RAD was nothing but a vanity project for Lord Diavolo. Leviathan, as Grand Admiral of Hell’s Navy, developed a code. 

“MAMMON! YOU SCUM! GIVE ME BACK MY MONEY!” = Mammon, problem reported by witches, you personally need to deal with it

“I don’t owe you nothin’, you hermit! And anyway, I’m fuckin’ broke! I got nothin’ for ya!” = I’m blocked at the moment, can you watch the human, no one else is here

“YOU OWE ME 1350 GRIMM AND I WANT IT RIGHT NOW!” = portal waiting, I’ll take over

She’s sure they have developed even more of the code over the years, but she knew this much of it at least. 

Poor Alex was shaking so hard, they were so terrified. She explained who she was and how the program worked, and settled any questions Alex had. She had her doubts about Alex’s longevity in the House, so she made a mental note to have Simeon check in on them, too. 

She took Alex to their room, and explained how the shower and sink worked, and how to control the lighting in the room. The demons just assumed everyone knew all of this and forgot that the students had never been exposed to magic. Poor Alex’s eyes were so wide and they looked so scared. Hopefully Beelzebub would swing by soon. He could calm down anyone. 

She left Alex in their room, after giving them her number and setting up a standing monthly meeting. She jogged down to the foyer to grab the box she came with. Knowing there was something going on, she sent a quick text to Levi to see if he was still available. 

\------------

Levi was sitting in front of his computer, two of his four monitors focused on a current exercise he was putting a small naval squadron through, his third a variety of windows showing the locations of all of the Brothers and what they were working on, and his fourth monitor had a new anime playing. He was leaning back in his chair, frowning at the squadron. The captain was making some very stupid mistakes. He might have to step in and knock some heads together. 

His D.D.D. lit up with a notification. He grabbed it, half watching the exercise on his screen still. He saw that he had a notification from that human lady, Jen. He bet she was shoving the new kid onto him, whatever he did wasn’t important to anyone, no one understood what he did, it didn’t matter if she thought he was smart because he was so dumb and gross. He opened the text. 

**Hey, Alex is settled in their room. I have a box of stuff from the human realm for you to go through. I thought of you when I was unpacking.**

Huh, this is different. He texted her to come up to his room. He was glad Lucifer was out, because he really wanted to see what was in that box, and the two of them argued every time they saw each other. 

There was a knock on the door. Levi debated whether or not to hide his monitors, but decided not to. Jen always knew everything anyway. “Come in!” he called. 

Jen shuffled the box in her hand, and wiggled until she could turn the door lever. She walked into the blue tinted room, shutting the door with her foot. “No password this time, Levi?” she asked. 

Levi eyed the box she brought in, lighting up when he saw the word “electronics” written on the side. “Nah,” he said. “I only do that when I have to hide what I’m doing first. You already know what I do.”

_That’s true,_ she thought. And leave it to Levi to figure it out. “Well, I bring you the spoils of the Human Realm. Have at it.” She plopped the box down next to his desk, and watched in amusement as he dived in. She took the opportunity to look at the screen, noticing the naval exercise. 

“What the hell is he _doing?!”_ she asked, incredulously. 

“Right? I’m going to have to go out there,” Levi said absently, as he dug through the box. “LOL, do you seriously have a plastic bin full of old cords?! I bet you move it from house to house like a normie.” He took out the bin and set it aside. “You go ahead and take that back with you. I wouldn’t want to take such a sentimental item from you.” He grinned as he kept pawing through the box. 

“Oh fuck you, Levi. Seriously.” She kept her eyes on the screen. There was something in the captain’s movements that was bugging the back of her brain. 

A gasp sounded as Levi found the motherload. “Is this a fucking PSVita?! There’s a Switch in here, too!! OMG THERE ARE LIKE FIVE DIFFERENT CONSOLES IN HERE!!!” He gaped at her in amazement. “I can’t afford what this is going to cost me. You have to have a million Grimm worth of Human Realm goods in here.”

Without moving her attention from the screen, she waved that away. “You are literally the only one who will appreciate all of this and actually use them as they’re intended.” She leaned forward a little, squinting at the screens. “Hey, Levi…”

Levi was laying out all of the consoles, reverently. “Yeah? What’s up?” He couldn’t decide what to hook up first. 

“Your dude is opening up the line and letting a bogie in.”

He leapt to his feet. “WHAT?!” He examined the screens, and swore. 

“I gotta go smash these fuckers up. Don’t forget your bin of cords.” In a flash, he was in his demon form. He climbed into his massive aquarium and was gone in seconds. 

She made sure to turn his screens off in case someone (namely a curious human) wandered in. She looked at the bin of cords, and decided to leave them in Levi’s room. 

She didn’t return to her rooms in the Palace until much later in the evening, after a meeting with Simeon and Solomon about the new student. She walked all of three steps before she noticed it, sitting in the middle of the room. 

A bin of random cords.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was so much fun to write.


	6. Satan

_Somewhere around seventy years ago._

Satan was irritated. He usually was mad, angry, furious, or pissed. That came with the whole “Avatar of Wrath” nonsense. The thing is, he could control that.

Today he was just _pissy._

Nothing was going right today, Lucifer was riding his ass about something or other, a project that he and Belphegor had crawled to a screeching halt, and the fucking exchange student came in knocked a stack of reference books over. He had spent _hours_ putting them in order to optimize his research time, and all he got out of it was a “tee-hee, soooowwwwwy Satan!”

He was just fucking done with everything today. 

Deciding that work was just not going to happen at RAD or at home, he gathered his notes and left for the Royal Library. At least he could work in the locked archives away from that fucking human. _I swear to fuck,_ he thought, _they’re getting DUMBER._

This year’s human Satan didn’t even bother to try to get to know. The absolute fluff between the man’s ears was astounding. Mammon and Beel were still willing to put in the effort to get to know the guy, but both of them were desperate for an answer. They’d grasp at any straw available if it meant answers.

Satan wasn’t sure they were looking in the right spot in the first place. Why were they looking for a Lilith descendant, when by all accounts she was happier as a human than an angel? Never mind that there are literally over a million descendants to comb through.

Satan never even met Lilith. Oh, he has memories of her, but they’re Lucifer’s memories, not his. And the prophecy specifically called out the “seven brothers”, why would Lilith have anything to do with it?

He understood that his Brothers missed her, but it couldn’t be healthy pining over a sister that died happy as a human.

Satan walked into the Royal Library and headed for the restricted archives. No one was allowed in there other than by royal decree, so he should finally be left alone to continue his research. He passed under the archway that separated the archives from the rest of the library, feeling the tingle of the lock spell run over his skin. He approached his favorite table and was mildly surprised to see that he wasn’t alone.

Jen the human (he never could get her last name out of her) was heads down in a large tome, calmly writing in the living record book like she had every right to be there. He watched her as she deftly dipped the fountain pen into the inkwell, and confidently wrote with no fear of making a mistake or inkblots. He didn’t realize that he was staring until he saw that she was looking at him with a grin on her face.

“What’s up, Satan?” she asked, her eyes dancing with humor when she realized that he wasn’t paying attention. She quickly sanded and blotted the page like a pro, and neatly capped the inkwell. Satan approved of her neat habits. He hated when people were sloppy around books.

He smiled back, mood lightening considerably. He’s always liked Jen, and not just because Lucifer couldn’t stand her. She was smart and could hold her own in a conversation, and she never faked her way through anything.

If she didn’t know, she didn’t know. But you could be damn sure that she would find out for you, quickly.

Satan sat at his table and pulled out his notes. “I needed to get away. I was going to kill your exchange student.”

She snorted, and walked to the chair on the other side of the table. She sat without being invited, but she was never one to wait for an invitation anyway. “I know he’s a bit spacy, but is he really that bad?” 

Satan leaned forward, hands tented in front of him. “No one, not even Asmo, has slept with him yet.”

Shocked laughter exploded out of her. _It was a good thing that the same charm that kept out unauthorized entry also soundproofed the place,_ he thought. “He can’t be that bad!” she gasped, still laughing. “I mean, he seems to have a grasp on the academics just fine. And Mammon gave him his pact.”

Satan shook his head. “Mammon always gives his pact away too early. It’s the angel in him. But even Mammon has standards when it comes to bed partners. This guy gets lost leaving a bathroom, could you imagine if you let him near the dangly bits?” He grinned as she tried to catch her breath from her hysterical laughter.

She wiped tears away from her eyes as she collected herself. “Well, safe to say that Lucifer will strip this guy’s pacts at the end of the term, if none of you can stand the guy.” She was referring to the failsafe they had built into the exchange program. If a student makes it the full year alive, but doesn’t trigger the prophecy (none have yet), Lucifer has the exchange student locked away for the last night of their stay and systematically strips most of the demon pacts they may have made, and implants the seeds of false memories to cover the year they were away. 

She privately thinks he leaves Mammon’s pacts alone, to save his heart. 

Satan laid his work out in front of him. “While it’s always a pleasure, Jen, I really have to get this done today.” He smiled at her to show he meant no insult. 

She grinned in acknowledgement and stood up. “That’s fine. Sounds like I have to go check on our human himbo anyway.” She walked over to the living record book, closed it, and filed it away on the shelf. He was alight in curiosity over what she had written, but he knew the book wasn’t keyed to him. 

Jen grabbed her bag and tossed it over her shoulder. “I’ll see you later. Are you coming to my lecture later?” she teased. He didn’t know how she did it, but she managed to convince Diavolo that she would be better placed as an instructor than a student at RAD.

“Not even if you stick glass under my fingernails,” he smirked. He avoided Human Culture Studies like a plague. Jen knew that most demons would skip her class, and had designed the syllabus with that in mind. All of the actual assignments were listed, along with reference materials and due dates. She probably had the easiest classes to deal with.

She smiled at him and gave a little wave goodbye, and passed through the archway.

Satan tried to get lost in his work, but he kept thinking about Jen and her influence on the Exchange Program. If he only recently started to think they were headed along the wrong track, she was always against it. But instead of dealing with it like the demons would, by killing, maiming, and threatening; she worked her negotiation magic on the backend, ensuring the safety and the well-being of the humans involved.

He still remembered the look on Lucifer and Diavolo’s faces after she looked the Brothers up and down, and said “You better be careful, or you’re gonna have a lot of knocked up humans.” Despite her blunt words, she had a point, so now Asmo added a birth control charm into what was being called his “Welcome Stare”.

No need for any halflings in the world.

Not yet anyway.

\-----------------

Jen hurried back to RAD, texting the exchange student on the way. It was important that she move his evaluation forward a couple of months. If he was a complete washout, they had to know as soon as possible. They’ve discovered over the years that any student the Brothers didn’t click with were potential security violations, and it was best that they be removed from the Devildom immediately, if only for their own safety.

Mentally rearranging her afternoon plans, she entered RAD and walked to her classroom, where her office was located, nodding to students as they passed. Entering her classroom, she saw immediately that she wasn’t alone. 

A gigantic lower demon was inside, mopping the floor. His uniform, ridiculously tight on his monstrous frame, proclaimed him as a janitor. On his breast was a round name tag that said “Sid”. He looked up when she entered, and she couldn’t help the giggle-snort that fell from her lips.

“Holy shit, Reggach, a janitor, really??” she asked, incredulously. She closed the door behind her and said the quick cantrip Barbatos taught her to detect hiding Little Ds. After making sure they were really alone, she turned to her lower level contact. “It must be some bad news if you’re risking your skin coming here. I don’t have much time, I have a student coming in for an evaluation.”

Reggach propped the mop up carefully in his bucket, and pulled himself up to his full height. “That’s why I’m here. You need backup on this one.”

Jen’s jaw dropped. “No way. The Brothers would’ve sensed something! _Satan_ would have sensed something. He’s no fool!” Even as she was voicing her surprise, she was texting Barbatos for RAD-appropriate backup. Reggach shouldn’t be here at all, and she didn’t want to blow his cover. 

Reggach nodded slowly, knowing she was taking the correct steps to protect herself. He himself had no desire to be caught up in this web. “It goes deep, baby girl. This is more than the nobles this time. There’s a faction that wants to shut you up, but I can’t figure out who yet.” He smiled encouragingly at her. “I will, though, leave it to me. I owe you.”

She sighed and stowed her things, making sure the emergency beacon was turned on her D.D.D. Reggach was the closest thing to family she had anymore, and she adored him. They had crossed paths in her early days in the Devildom, where they saved each other from some trouble, and he decided that he would take her under his wing and teach her all he knew about hell and how it worked. 

Thanks to him, her “side-gig” of building a network of informants all over Hell had solidified her position at Court. 

“I’d feel better if you had my pact, Jen.” The demon looked at her, his expression grave. “My mate agrees. We think you’d be safer.” This was an argument they’ve had for dozens and dozens of years, and would probably have for the rest of eternity.

She was already shaking her head. “No. No pacts. It’s glorified slavery and I won’t contribute to it.” At least, that was the story she told publicly. Only Barbatos and Lord Diavolo knew the truth. “Now go hide, I don’t want anyone to know you’re here.”

He looked as if he was going to argue, but he recognized the look on her face. She was getting ready to fight for her life, and he would only be in the way. He went to her office and closed the door most of the way.

She had just settled herself behind the desk in the classroom when a knock at the door sounded. “Come in,” she called, calmly. She had decided to treat this as a normal evaluation, until it turned otherwise. 

The door opened and a human man walked in. She supposed if she wasn’t surrounded by angels and demons at all times, she would have found this man attractive. He was young (they all were), and had an athletic build. But now she was on guard, she noticed small things that she hadn’t before. The slightly cocky swagger, the little smirk, and the coldness behind his eyes.

This guy was going to try and hurt her.

“Hey, Jen, you wanted to see me?” He continued to move across the classroom, his demeanor reminding her of a frat boy on a Saturday night. She narrowed her eyes imperceptibly, noting the location of his hands. He definitely had a weapon up his sleeve. 

“Hey there,” she smiled, giving the impression that she was still ignorant of his intentions. She needed to keep him confident, cocky even. She needed him to talk. “Come have a seat, I want to chat with you about moving your evaluation up. I think you’re ready for it.”

He grinned, “I was TOTALLY thinking the same thing! I’m like the _master _of this place now.” She didn’t miss the emphasis he placed on master.__

___Someone has made a deal with a devil,_ she thought. _Now it’s time to find out which one.__ _

__She waved her hand at the seat in front of her desk. “Have a seat, and let’s get started.”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued with Asmo.
> 
> Also, I had to add content warnings, because of some upcoming chapters (namely, Asmo's gonna Asmo, and Belphie's gonna Belphie). I'll place CW at the top of any chapter that contains any icky.


	7. Asmodeus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CW: Asmo uses his powers to get answers, it's fairly tame, and it's all above the shoulders, but I know that can be disturbing to some people. There's also off-scene violence.

_Continuing from the last chapter_

Jen sat calmly at the teacher’s desk in the classroom. She smiled serenely at the student in front of her, internally trying to discover where they had missed the signs. “Ok Jack, let’s discuss how things are going with you. How do you like your classes?” She deliberately didn’t look at the office door in the back of the classroom, or at the classroom door itself. She didn’t want to drop that they were on to his machinations. 

She watched as Jack’s expression changed from delightfully pretty but dumb, to sly and calculating. He slouched a little in his chair, and looked at her from half-lidded eyes. A small smile quirked at the corner of his mouth. 

_If I was twenty years old, and met this guy in a bar, he’d already have my panties in his pocket,_ she thought. _This guy is used to getting what he wants with his looks._ She smiled. _Too bad for him I know a guy._

Jack reached an arm out, fingers pointed. He tried to run his finger down her arm, but she shifted away. He smirked, all cocky and knowing. 

“I’d heard you were frigid, Jen. You should let me warm you up.” He moved quickly, simultaneously grabbing at her arm with one hand and dropping a knife from his sleeve into another. She was too quick, too well-trained for that tactic to work, and stood up just as fast, out of his reach. She probably could end this right now. 

But she needed information, which meant he needed to talk. 

Realizing what she was up against, and her time constraints, she decided to play weak. He was arrogant enough to fall for it. 

She stepped backwards, stumbling a little. “J-jack, what are you doing? You’re scaring me!” _Oh gross,_ she made herself sick sometimes. 

He gloated, walking around the desk. _This asshole probably thinks he’s prowling or some shit,_ she rolled her eyes internally. 

“I hear you’re promised to the Demon Prince,” Jack taunted. “I hear that you are not allowed to touch anyone because only HE can touch you.” 

She couldn’t help the scoffing laugh that burst out of her chest. “Seriously?! Oh that is hilarious.” She couldn’t stop it. She started laughing hysterically, almost bending over at the waist. 

Jack stopped, confused. “W-why are you laughing? What’s funny? Those demon dudes told me so!!” Aww, poor kid really _was_ stupid. 

The door to the classroom opened, quietly. Jen never took her eyes off Jack and his knife, but she wasn’t surprised when she heard a light voice ring out. 

“Knife play! _Really,_ darling, you should call me when you try something new.” The new arrival presented himself to the room, with the confidence of someone secure of their place in the world. 

Jack turned quickly to the door to confront the new arrival. The demon lifted an eyebrow, and looked up and down Jack’s body. 

Asmodeus sighed and shook his head, artfully. “Such a shame you’re so pretty. I could have done such delightful things to you. OH! Silly me, I mean _with_ you, of course!” Asmo flowed over to Jack, catching his gaze. Jack became completely still, locked into Asmodeus’s gaze.

“So what are you doing to my very, very, _very_ close friend?” Asmo leaned in and sniffed Jack’s neck, suggestively. 

Jen stayed quiet, learning from the master. 

Jack closed his eyes and leaned into Asmo’s body, his breathing becoming more erratic. “I was just talking to Jen-“ Asmo bopped his nose. 

“Ah ah ah, _Lady_ Jen. This ravishing woman is a member of the Court, and must be respected accordingly.” Asmo ran his tongue along Jack’s throat. “Tell me,” he murmured, magic filling in the spaces between his words. 

Jack panted, his face showing his arousal. “Ah- They told me she was the Demon Prince’s fiancé.”

“Who did,” Asmo had moved up to his ear, grabbing the lobe with his teeth. “Tell me who,” he coo’d. 

Jack’s eyes rolled back into his head, his breath coming in pants. “The-oh god- the two dudes in my magic history class- AH! The guys who sit right in front of me.”

Jen searched her memory, and recalled the two demons he was talking about. They were minor members of a major noble house.

Expendable, in other words. 

Asmo caught her eye as he continued his assault on Jack’s ear and throat. She signaled that she knew the demons he was talking about. 

“Jack,” Asmo breathed into his ear. “What did they want you to do?”

Jack was starting to have a hard time breathing. “I was supposed to cut her up, mess her up, kill her if I could.”

Asmo’s eyes flashed. Jack hasn’t realized it yet, but he wasn’t leaving this room alive. “And what were you going to get?” he breathed.

“Money,” Jack said, “and maybe her pussy.”

Jen huffed and crossed her arms. Asmo twinkled at her in amusement. 

Asmo’s eyes glowed, as he inhaled. “Jack, are you listening to me? Do you want to make me happy?”

Jack smiled, “oh yes oh yes oh yes.”

Asmo whispered in his ear, and stepped back. Jen took a steadying breath. Asmo looked at her, and said, “Turn around, my dear. You don’t need to see this.”

She did what said, and discovered Barbatos smirking in the background. She let her eyes twinkle at him. They both knew this level of violence was nothing to her. 

She could hear a horrible slicing and squishy sound, followed by an ominous large thump. 

Barbatos presented himself at her side. “I can handle it from here, my Lady, my Lord.” Two sharp clicks and an air pressure change later, she felt it was safe enough to turn around. 

Asmo was straightening his cuffs and fluffed his hair. The only sign of Jack was a large puddle of blood on the floor. She hoped Reggath got out ok, she didn’t want him stuck cleaning this up. 

“Darling,” Asmo began, “tell me you know the name of the House of those two demons.” They both knew that going after the two demons themselves would be futile. They’ll be destroyed by midnight, obliterated by their own House. 

Jen nodded. “They belong to House Astroneth. I’m wracking my brain to figure out why they’d want this to happen, though.” She’s dealt with assassination attempts before, she’s part of the Court, after all. But this particular mess didn’t make sense. 

Asmo stepped delicately over the blood puddle and sat in the chair Jack had abandoned. He crossed his legs at the knee and clasped his hands on top of them. He frowned a little, but not enough to cause a forehead wrinkle, she noticed. 

“You’re right, my dove, it doesn’t make sense. Lord Diavolo has never made a betrothal announcement or shown any marked favor.” He worried his lip, gently. “There’s something bigger here.”

That aligned with what her sources found as well. “I agree. Maybe they realized how dumb Jack was and couldn’t turn down the opportunity.” 

Asmo threw his head back and laughed. Jen liked this laugh, it was hearty and real, and lacked any affectation. She felt kind of proud of herself that she was able to make it happen. 

Asmo wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. “My blossom, while I’m ever so disappointed that you won’t let me in your bed, I am so very, VERY happy we’re friends. I don’t have many outside of my Brothers, you know.” He smiled a friendly smile at her, and she smiled back. 

He leaned his elbows on the desk, flaring his hands open. “I am DYING to know what you think of me, my sugared petunia! Tell me tell me tell me!!” He clasped his hands together and held them under his chin, his face lit up in amusement. 

She laughed. “SUGARED PETUNIA?! You are ridiculous, Asmo.” He batted his eyes at her, waiting for his answer. 

“I think you’re a walking adverb, my friend,” she began, and he smiled, delightedly. “I love that you don’t just walk into a room, you _present_ yourself to the room. I think you have hidden depths that are a joy to see when you give me a sneak peek.” His eyes sparkled, begging for more. 

“I think you are one of the most loyal beings in three realms.” He started to interrupt, and she could tell it was going to be an innuendo. She cut him off. “I’m not saying monogamous, Asmo. I said loyal. Your friendship is not easily earned, but it’s so worth it.” She gave him a smile that she hoped showed the depth of respect she had for him. 

His face transformed, and she knew she was seeing the true Asmodeus, the face his Brothers saw. His eyes were so kind, his smile soft. 

God, she wished she could hug him. 

“Jen, I’m so happy I know you.” His eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled honestly. It took her breath away. 

“And now, my pickle,” the moment gone, Asmo the Avatar of Lust was back. “Do you feel like you can function the rest of the day? I know you were pretty frightened!” He twinkled at her from his seat. 

She was confused for a second, and then she realized that he didn’t know about her; he honestly thought a little violence and an execution was a terrifying experience for her. He was trying to distract her and make her feel better. 

_Ugh, my heart!_ thought Jen. What a great man. 

“I’ll be fine, Asmo.” She laughed to herself. 

“What’s funny, my apple?”

Jen looked at him and asked “Should I actually put a sign up that says class is cancelled, or do you think everyone was planning on skipping anyway?”

His laugh at that comment could be heard all the way down the hall.


	8. Beelzebub

_119 years ago_

Jen was rather at a loss, and had no idea what to do with herself. She was in a new place, surrounded by strange beings, and she had no idea if she was a guest, an employee, or a victim. She had been very politely escorted to a giant castle, given a nice set of rooms, and then was left all alone, with instructions to stay put for the next couple of days.

She had no idea where to go even if she left her rooms, so here she sat. 

Bored, bored, bored, bored. There were books, but they seemed to be the kind of books you could buy by the yard at furniture stores to make your bookshelves look like they were owned by smart people. She found a couple of what turned out to be law books, but she was lacking context to make any sense of them at all.

She was morbidly curious why there needed to be a law about how to divide assets in case of “accidental acid fallout on the marital limbs”.

She knew exactly how many regular steps it took to walk from her bedroom door, across the sitting area, and to the window seat. She knew how many baby steps the perimeter of her entire suite took. 

She was currently in the process of finding out how many giant steps wide the dining nook was, when she heard a low chuckle behind her.

Jen gasped and jumped almost out of her skin. When she landed, she found herself looking at a giant of a man, his orange hair shining bright in the chandelier light. His purple eyes the exact color of late dusk. He had his hands in his pockets and had a friendly smile on his face.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” the friendly giant said. “I’m Beelzebub.” 

She placed a had on her chest to help calm her racing heart and fast breathing. “Hi, sorry, you startled me! I didn’t hear you knock!” She took another calming breath, “It’s nice to meet you, Beelzebub, I’m Jen.” 

“That’s because I didn’t knock.” Beelzebub ducked his head. “Can we sit? I need to go over some stuff with you.”

Eyes widened in slight shock, Jen motioned to the dining table. “Well, since we’re here already, have a seat.” She pulled a chair out and sat at the table, not taking her eyes of the large man.

Beelzebub smiled and sat at the table. “This works, I have food being brought in anyway. And call me Beel.” He was so sunny and nice, she couldn’t help but smile back. 

“Ok,” he cleared his throat. “You're my first human I’ve had to do this with, so make sure you stop me at any time you don’t understand something, ok?” He nodded like everyone was on the same page.

Well, she wasn’t. “I do have a question right now, actually,” she said. He nodded encouragingly at her, so she asked, “Why are you here and what haven’t you done with a human before?”

He had the grace to look a little sheepish. “I guess I forgot that part, huh.” He rubbed the back of his neck with his hands, making his biceps pop.

_Do not notice the nice demon’s muscles, Jen._

“I’m head of security for the Council and Court, and personal protector of the Council VP. I’m here to give you a security briefing and to outline the rules, laws, and consequences if you don’t follow them.” His affable expression turned deadly cold in a flash. “I take this very seriously, and I will eliminate you personally if you are a threat.”

She met his gaze and held it. “I understand.” She had figured that this was coming. You don’t get to live in a palace with the son of the Demon King and not have to deal with any security issues.

He nodded and slouched back in his seat, hands back in his pockets. “Food should be here in a sec. But let’s get started, and we can eat when it gets here.”

At her nod, he smiled at her serious face. “It’s ok to relax. I’m not going to eat you. That’s just a rumor.”

_...what?!_

Jen’s jaw dropped. “I wasn’t worried about it before, but NOW I am!”

He laughed. “You haven’t heard of me?”

“I haven’t heard of _anybody_.” She waved her arm around the room. “I’ve been in here for three days! I’ve only seen that butler guy and those cute little guys who do stuff around the place.”

“Little Ds.” At her blank look, he explained. “The ‘cute little guys’ are what we call Little Ds. They’re something like spirits or familiars. They’re tied to a sin, though, so they’re typically used to carry messages or act as the eyes and ears of the Avatars.” He paused, seeing the shock on her face. “You know, my Brothers.”

The shock on her face wasn’t for the reason he thought, but she continued to let him think so. 

He wasn’t allowed to know the truth.

She gathered herself together, and when he saw that she was under control, he continued. “I’m the Avatar of Gluttony. And full disclosure, my Little Ds were working in here the last couple of days.” His gaze unfocused for a minute, and suddenly her favorite Little D of the bunch was dancing on the table. He cartwheeled over to her, chattering and making happy noises.

These little guys just made her happy. They were so apologetically cheerful that she couldn’t help but smile when they were around.

“You impressed them, Jen. Most people aren’t nice to them.” Beel reached out and patted the little guy on the head. “Treat them with dignity and kindness, and they’ll do pretty much anything you ask, as long as it’s not against their Avatar.” The Little D chittered at Beel and he chuckled. “Barb is here with the food.”

He stood and stretched his arms to the sky, showing a delicious bit of tummy between his shirt and the waistband of his pants and walked into the sitting room to help Barbatos bring the food in. 

Aware that the Little D was still dancing on the table, Jen tried her best not to stare at that strip of skin. Or his ass as he walked away. 

_Yeah, I can see how he was carved by God. Holy shit._

Her attention was grabbed when she saw Barbatos pushing in a cart loaded down with food, and Beel following him, arms full of bags of snacks and drinks. Barb pushed the cart next to the table and proceeded to unload everything on the cart to the table. The amount of food blew her mind, but she wasn’t really surprised, considering that she was in the company of the personification of Gluttony. 

In the meantime, Beel had dropped off the bags in the sitting room, and was returning to the dining area. “Thanks, Barb! It’s always great to have your cooking!”

Barbatos bowed slightly at the waist. “Always a pleasure to cook for someone who appreciates it.” He straightened and addressed Jen. “Please serve yourself first.” He glanced slyly at Beel. “Otherwise you might not get a chance to eat.” 

Beel grumbled at him, stopping himself from attacking the food. 

“Everything being served this evening is safe for humans to eat, so don’t be hesitant to try anything.” Barbatos bowed once more. “I will take my leave. Enjoy your evening, my Lady, my Lord.” He stepped away from the dining nook and walked out of the suite. 

Jen started picking through the food, grabbing a little bit of everything. Beel watched in amusement as she forced herself to grab what looked to be bat wings. “Do you even know what you’re grabbing?”

She continued to look through the serving platters, lifting lids and poking unfamiliar food with the serving spoon. “Some of it. Barbatos has been giving me a crash course in Devildom food and etiquette these past couple of days.” She scooped something that looked a little like jelly onto her plate. “Please don’t tell me what this is.”

“That’s just jelly. I know you have it in the Human Realm,” he said, amused. 

She scrunched her nose. “I mean don’t tell me what it’s made of.”

He laughed, nodding his head. “You have a deal. Did you get everything you wanted?”

“Yes, this is more than enough, thank you.”

No sooner than the words came out of her mouth, he dug into the feast. She watched in amazement as the pile of food slowly disappeared. She stopped herself from staring and applied herself to her own plate. 

“You ok to talk while we eat?” He was more than halfway done with the pile of food. She didn’t know if she was more impressed with how much he was eating or the fact that his table manners were impeccable as he did. 

“Of course. Where do we start?” She snuck the Little D a bit of her food. She assumed he was delighted because his dancing became more frantic. 

Beel noticed, and sent her an amused look. “I do need these guys back eventually. They’ll never leave if you keep spoiling them.”

She shrugged and pushed her plate aside. “I think they’re pretty cool.” She leaned back in her chair. “So where do we start?”

All of the food was now gone, and Beel was eyeing her plate of leftover food. She pushed it his way. He grabbed it and pulled it toward him. “I am going to start by telling you about your security detail, then we’ll go into how the Council runs. If we have time, I’ll go over Court stuff, but that’s more of Barb’s area.”

He set aside the plates (she swore he was debating with himself about eating them), and folded his hands on the table. 

“You don’t have any magic, but that’s ok, because no one will be going for your soul.” He squinted at her. “What did you do to that thing anyway?” He shook his head, clearly not needing an answer. He continued, “I think the less attention we draw to you the better off we’ll be. So as long as you’re in the Palace, no bodyguards or security.”

He stood and gestured to the seating area in front of the fireplace. “Let’s move over to the couches, this can take awhile.”

She pushed back from the table, and skirted around Beel, Diavolo’s warning about touching any of the Brothers still fresh in her mind. 

They both sat on opposite couches. Beel noticed the law book she was trying to read. “Man, you WERE bored. Well, once we finish here, I’ll give you a walk through of the safe zones in the palace. You’ll be able to get out of here for a bit, at least.” He looked at her hopefully. “Any chance you like working out?”

Oh hey! A question she could answer with full honesty! “I do! I’m a runner. I’ve been going crazy locked in here. Is there a treadmill around?”

He hummed happily. “It’ll be nice to have company in the gym. I’ll show you where that is on our tour.” 

He reached into a bag and pulled out a map. He spread it on the coffee table between them and spent the next several hours pointing out secret passageways and safe zones to her, and quizzing her on them until she could answer without thinking. 

It was almost midnight when he called a halt to the exercise. “You’re exhausted. I’ll come by in the morning to do that walk-through with you.”

She tried her best to hold back a yawn. “No, no, I’m totally fine. Let’s go!” She didn’t realize that she had been rubbing her eyes for the past hour. 

He smiled kindly at her. “I know exhaustion when I see it, Jen.” He let out a small chuckle, like he was laughing at his own private joke. “Go to bed.”

She couldn’t hold back the yawn that attacked her at that moment. “Fine, fine. I’ll head to bed. Did you want to take this food with you?”

Startled, he looked to where she was pointing, and realized that he never got into all of the snacks Barb left. He hadn’t felt hungry at all. Bemused, he summoned a Little D to take the bags back to his place (which it did, after dancing around Jen’s ankles for a bit), and gathered his things. Jen walked him to the door, wished him goodnight and closed the door behind him. 

Beel stood in the hallway for a moment, lost in thought. A discrete cough behind him caught his attention. Barbatos was standing close by. 

“May I assist you in anything else tonight, my Lord? I made some pastries you may enjoy.”

Beel shook his head, slowly. “No. No thanks, Barb. I’m not very hungry.” He walked down the hallway to the stairwell. 

Barbatos narrowed his eyes at Beel’s back, then looked at Jen’s door. 

_This is going to be more difficult than we expected._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beel is a good boy.


	9. Belphegor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CW: Violence. It's Belphie.

_69 years ago (nice)_

Belphegor crept his way through the dark field, pushing his body as close to the ground as possible, trusting that the ridges between the furrows would help shield his body. He kept his senses wide open, his powers gently charming any unsuspecting farm workers to sleep.

He would not be so gentle when he reached his target.

Inch by painful inch, Belphie crawled his way across the fallow field. His body discipline is absolute, not even a stray twitch from his tail. Eons of habits did not dull his actions, every move deliberate. There was no room for mistakes. There could be no chance for a hint of doubt.

He saw the equipment shed ahead just ahead of him. According to all of the sources, the demon who was a key player in a plot to overthrow the demon prince was hiding in here. 

When Belphegor was done with him, there would be nothing to reform.

Slowly, Belphegor stood, staying slouched over as he walked on silent feet. He crept closer, staying out of the eye-line of the only door. He strained to hear if any voices sounded from within. 

He arrived at the shed, his magic telling him that his victim was asleep. And alone. 

Belphegor pushed himself as close to the shed as possible. It wouldn’t do to have his cover blown now that he was so close. He skulked around the edge of the building and to the door, and eased it open, his magic keeping a firm grip on the demon’s mind to keep him asleep.

Now inside, he closed the door behind him. He stopped caring about making noise at this point. It didn’t matter if the demon heard him or not. He was already dead.

Once he told Belphegor everything he knew, that was.

Belphegor stood over the sleeping demon and considered his options. The easy way would to just enter his dream and torture his psych until he spilled everything. But that would leave Belphegor open to attack and vulnerable, with no one to watch his back. And honestly, it was way less fun.

Belphegor gave a yank on his magic and woke the demon up. The demon startled awake and found himself staring into the eyes of hell personified. The demon, knowing now that he would not survive this night, started to scream.

Belphegor smiled. _Tonight will be very productive,_ he thought to himself.

The screaming from the equipment shack didn’t stop until morning.

\-----------------------

Jen walked confidently through the farming settlement, greeting the village elders and smiling at the demons she knew. This was a humble farming village, populated by a lower demon caste with no aspirations for more. They were happy in their role, planting and tending the fallen human souls into their fields, using them to fertilize the belladonna fields, which in turn fed the livestock, like the cockatrices and the dire cows.

That’s why when her contacts alerted her to an unusual amount of noble activity, she dropped everything to come to the sixth layer of hell. 

A pair of demon spawn tumbled over to her to say hello, and she stopped to make a big fuss over them. Due to their immortal lifespans, demon young were rare, and highly cherished. To have a pair be born to such a small village was a great honor, and everyone in the village looked out for them. 

They pestered her until she gave up the toys she’d been hiding in her pocket, then they toppled away without a thank you. She didn’t mind, kids were kids. Demon kids were hilarious, though, she’s found. All blobby and limb buds, as their body develops over the next hundred years or so. 

She continued on her way to the mayor’s house to pay her respects, keeping an eye out for anything that seemed out of place. Everything seemed the same as always. Change tends to stick out in a place where time has no real meaning.

She gave a sharp knock on the door when she arrived. The mayor opened the door and welcomed her warmly. When he closed the door, he wasted no time telling her of the screaming from the equipment shack in the fallow belladonna field the night before. He had kept the villagers away, for their safety. 

Jen promised him that she was on her way to check it out, and that she’d let him know if it was safe to go near it. The lower demons want nothing to do with any noble drama, and would rather hide if one came poking around.

Leaving the mayor’s house, she walked quickly across the square, and out into the surrounding fields. Finding the fallow field, she walked slowly across it to the shed, scanning the soft soil for signs of trespassers. She narrowed her eyes when she saw an unusual track in a furrow. 

Someone was crawling through here. Someone with a tail. Distracted, she followed the tracks to the shack, noting where the person stood on two feet, and seeing their careful footsteps to the shed. No sign of a tail anymore. 

Realization hit her like a ton of bricks. This was a Belphegor track. She looked warily at the door of the track. He did not do clean kills. 

But she had to check, and see how much clean up would be involved. They couldn’t let the villagers back until it was cleaned completely. The Council won’t risk the lower demons, and if there was even a hint of who this guy was, the villagers were in danger.

She opened the door slowly, taking in the state of the shed. Belphie had definitely been busy, from the looks of the tools laying around. She only hoped that he got the information he needed. Jen edged around the walls of the shed, taking in the damage, happy that Belphie seemed to have taken the body with him at least.

She pulled out her D.D.D. to call her clean up team in. She no sooner got the code out, when she was body slammed from behind, her body pinned to the floor. 

As she struggled against the body holding her down, the arms around her neck tightened. 

“I can’t believe you’d turn traitor, you fucking human,” an angry Belphegor hissed in her ear. She struggled to answer him, her throat locked in the crook of his elbow. He loosened his hold just enough for her to take a gasping breath and blurt out a defense.

“I’m NOT! We’re on the same team!” she gasped. He tightened his hold and put his mouth by her ear. 

“Last night’s asshole told me that he was meeting his contact here today. And surprise, surprise, here you come, dancing in like you belonged here.” She could feel his hot breath against her ear. Her chest clenched as she realized what happened.

“Set. Up.” she managed to work out. Breathing was becoming a problem, but there was no defense against Belphegor.

He barked out a harsh laugh. “Oh. I’m sure.” He sneered at her. “There’s only one way to be sure, though, right?” When her oxygen-deprived brain caught up to his meaning, her struggle became more intense. He chuckled. “What’s the matter, human? Hiding something?” 

She felt the edges of his magic oozing into her mind, bringing exhaustion with it. She tried to stay awake, but it was no good. She passed out.

Belphegor started with her most current memories, seeing things through her eyes. He watched as she cataloged her surroundings with a calculation that put even him to shame. He watched as she interacted with the villagers, the kids, the animals. He saw the moment an unassuming mechanic dropped her a note, requesting her presence at the village. Felt her surprise when she talked to the mayor. Saw the code she sent on her D.D.D. before he took her down. 

Fuck, they _were_ set up.

Pulling himself out of her dreams, and sending out a trail of magic to wake her up, he sat back on his heels. He felt like a giant shitheel. She was telling the truth.

He watched her slowly come awake, pulling herself into a sitting position against the wall of the shed. She rolled her neck, trying to loosen the knots in it. She looked at Belphie from the corner of her eye. “Satisfied?”

God, he was a prick. “Yeah. I’m sorry, Jen. I shouldn’t have done that.” He also sat back against the wall. 

She gave a weak smile, shocking him. “You’re the chief interrogator and executioner of the crown, Belphie. I would be surprised if you _didn’t_ do it. You have a job to do.” She snagged her D.D.D. out of her pocket. “You have about three minutes before my cleanup crew arrives, though. I bet you don’t want to be seen by them.”

Cleanup crew-, that meant, “holy shit, you lead the Cleaners.” Belphie looked at her in awe. “You run the biggest intelligence ring in two realms.” Belphie was shocked. He didn’t interact with the exchange students often due to his job, so needless to say he didn’t talk to Jen all that often. The more he thought back, Jen was the one that offered the “locked in the attic” nonsense to deter the more determined students. 

Jen half-smiled at him. “Don’t let Asmo hear you say that.” She rolled her head to the door. “Go on. Git. Try and see who’s trying to kill me, because I can’t figure it out.”

He stood and offered his hand to her. She smiled a sad smile and refused his offer. They were lucky no skin touched when he had his arm around her neck. She struggled to her feet and cocked her head. Her crew was arriving.

She sighed. “Well, now you have to hide, because you took too long.” She brushed her hands on her pants. “You should watch and see how much work it takes to clean up after you anyway. You’re a slob.”

Belphie looked as if he was going to argue, but thought better of it. He faded into the shadowed corner of the shed as her crew came in.

The crew consisted of a motley assortment of lower demons, none of them worth a second glance by a noble. _That’s how she does it,_ He wondered. _She’s got the masses in her pocket._

He watched as she gave the orders, impressed by the respect she gave and was given. She had clearly earned this on her own, not granted it by a boon from the prince. 

She stifled a yawn, causing a chuckle to go through her crew. “Boss, why don’t you go outside and take a nap. We got this,” a large red demon suggested. She yawed again, nodded and headed outside. “Wake me up when you’re done, would you?” They all agreed, and she left the shed.

He stared, flabbergasted at the crew. Was no one going to watch her back? When no one made a move to do so, he followed the shadows to the door, and followed her outside. He stuck to the shadows, telling himself that he could watch just as well from there as right next to her. 

Jen took her coat off and wadded it up for a pillow, laying on the soft dirt of the field. Within three breaths, she was out.

_Like a soldier,_ Belphie noticed. 

Keeping one eye on the shed, he slowly worked his way over to her. On instinct, he reached out with his magic to make sure she was sleeping well. When he arrived at her side, he sat next to her. _Just keeping watch,_ he told himself.

He studied her face while she slept, trying to figure her out. She was a puzzle.

A lock of hair shifted onto her face, tickling her nose, and threatening to wake her up. He reached out without thinking and brushed it away, grazing her face with his bare hands as he did.

A shock slammed up his arm and into his heart, a physical jolt that shook his whole body. He looked at her in awe, and he knew he had to go see Lord Diavolo right away. He didn’t like leaving her alone, but if she was who he thought she was, she’d be fine.

He called his Little D to him, hitching a ride to the Palace from them. He went immediately to the room set aside for his private conversations with the prince and his butler. He knew it would only be a matter of time before they arrived. 

Barbatos arrived first, and his eyes did that eerie glowy thing they did when he was searching timelines. They cleared, and he glared at Belphie. Lord Diavolo entered shortly after. 

Lord Diavolo and Barbatos looked at each other and had a silent conversation. Then the prince sighed. “So you know.”

Belphegor was doing his best to keep his temper. “Yeah. I know.”

“Did she touch you?” Barbatos asked. The atmosphere in the room became heavy.

“No,” Belphie replied. “I touched her, and she doesn’t know I did.”

Both the prince and the butler took visible sighs of relief. “You cannot tell _anyone,_ including her. There will be war if you do, and we won’t win,” said the Prince.

Baffled, Belphie asked, “Why don’t we want anyone to know? This is great news!” Before he was finished speaking, Barb was already shaking his head.

“We have at least another seventy or a hundred years ahead of us before we can act.” At Belphie’s mulish expression, Barb added, “You don’t want her to _die_ do you?”

Belphegor shook his head in confusion. “Then why the Exchange Program? Why leave her alone?” He looked at the two men, agonized. “She has to be so _lonely.”_

Lord Diavolo sighed and sat in one of the chairs. “I’ll call off the Program. It’s causing more harm than good right now.” He looked weary.

Barbatos walked over to Belphegor and laid a hand on his arm. “As for her being lonely, that is how she developed the network she has now. She knows how to take care of herself. Trust her.”

“Belphegor,” the prince commanded his attention. “I’m in the process of opening the realm to greater commerce and diplomatic relations with humans. There are going to be more humans than ever in the Devildom. I need you to concentrate on rooting out the traitors in our midst.” The prince stood, the meeting over as far as he was concerned. “Leave Jen alone for now. All will be revealed in time.” He left the room, Barbatos right behind him. Barb gave Belphie one last look of compassion, and closed the door behind him.

Belphegor would never disobey a direct order from his prince, he owed him too much.

He found himself lost in thought, and a wonderfully, hilarious idea struck him. He smiled an evil smile.

\------------

One week later

Jen walked back to her rooms, exhausted from the work involved in shutting down the Exchange Program. There were so many loose ends to tie up. She didn’t have it as bad as the Council did, since they had to shut down RAD and find a way for a bunch of noble younger sons and daughters to go back to their homes without giving offense. She was going to be glad when this was all over, though. 

She opened the door to her suite, and stopped cold. Laying on the hearth in front of the fireplace, was the most adorably ugly puppy she had ever seen. And on the coffee table, a silver whistle on a chain lay on top of a book, “Care and feeding of your new hellhound”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to current time in the next chapter


	10. Butlers and Maids

_There was something so empowering about walking away from Lucifer after winning an argument with him,_ Jen thought to herself. She walked confidently down the intimidating council corridor, head held high. She was so _proud_ of herself for-

_Wait._

She screeched to a halt, half-turning toward the large double doors at the end of the hallway. “Oh that son of a bitch,” she groaned. He always had to have the fucking last word about everything. She shook her head, and continued back to the entrance of the building. She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he got under her skin. 

That just led to trouble. 

Jen always liked the walk from the Council Chambers (formally RAD) to the Palace. Barbatos’s staff kept up the gorgeous landscaping, and no conflicts were allowed to mar the serenity of the grounds. Often, she would come here just to read or think away from everyone, with only Ajax, her hellhound, for company.

When Barb had discovered how much she enjoyed his gardens, he created a few hidden alcoves and private areas for her to discover and enjoy. She loved the smile that would appear on his face when she excitedly told him about the latest arbor she had discovered. 

As if thinking about him summoned him (and honestly, she wouldn’t put it past him), Barbatos suddenly appeared on the path in front of her. She smiled her welcome, and motioned for him to join her on her walk to the palace.

He smiled and moved to walk alongside her. They walked companionably side-by-side for time, both of them content in the quiet moment. They had approached a fork in the path, and Barb subtly nudged her elbow to indicate which direction he would like her to go.

That’s one of things she liked the most about Barb. He never manhandled her like any other demon or human would. He treated her with a respect that was so rare, that every time he did, she was surprised by it. 

They turned down the direction Barb had indicated and ended up in the prettiest little bower she’s ever seen in the Devildom. There was a sweet little bistro table and two chairs, and the plants were all mimics of Human Realm flowers. It was so sweet that Jen let out a little gasp. 

She stepped into the space, and turned slowly, taking it all in. She stopped when she faced Barbatos again. “This is amazing,” she breathed. She watched as a huge genuine smile took over his face. 

“I’m so glad you like it. I had you in mind when I designed it.” He walked over to one of the walls, and she watched in amazement when he stuck his arm through and pulled back a curtain of ivy. She stepped through to see a small hideaway, complete with a ceiling. She looked around in confusion, as it was more like a closet made of greenery, rather than an actual seating area. 

She stepped back, only to land against Barb’s firm chest. She startled as he wrapped his arms around her from behind and squeezed her close. “I made this so I could give you a hug and no one could see,” the demon murmured into her hair. He nuzzled her as he held her tight.

“Barb-” she began. He interrupted her before she could finish her thought.

“I know that I am not your destiny, my love. Of course I know that.” The butler continued to hold her close. “But what kind of monster would if I had the means to make a safe place for you to hug people, where you can’t be seen from the Palace windows, or be spied upon, and have people question you?” He topped that with a quick kiss to the crown of her head. 

She let out a low laugh. “You didn’t make a hug room, Barb, you made me a place where I can meet my team without bringing them into the Palace.” She turned in his embrace and returned his hug, just as fiercely. “I wish I could, Barbatos.” 

“I know.” 

They stayed like that for what seemed like hours, taking comfort from each other. Jen, who couldn’t be seen touching anyone, lest the wrong questions be asked; and Barbatos, who needed to be seen as cold and calculating and as efficient as possible. 

Jen was the one to step back, breaking the hug with reluctance. “I love it, Barb, thank you.”

Barb reached out and lightly caressed her cheek. She leaned into it, slightly. It was so easy for her to become touch-starved. She was so grateful to Barbatos for never letting that happen.

Barbatos sighed. “As much as I would love to stay in here forever with you, I did have a legitimate purpose in seeking you out.” He swept the ivy to the side once more and held it aside for her. She stepped through, and waited for him to lead the way. 

They left the little bower and returned to the main path. Walking side by side, the two friends fell into an easy rhythm. “So what’s up, Barb?”

“There’s a festival this week,” he started. She nodded, letting him know that she was aware of it. “There is also going to be a ball.” He smirked at the face she made. “And _yes_ , as a member of Lord Diavolo’s court, you need to attend. I have a designer coming to see you tomorrow for a fitting.” He grinned at the look of dismay on her face. 

She absolutely hated the Court. Every cliché humans had heard about demons originated with the demon nobles. Power hungry did not even begin to describe it. They usually ignored her, as she had no magic, her soul was a mess, and she couldn’t even dance because she couldn’t touch anyone. 

She attended the actual Court sessions, but avoided the social events like a plague. She had zero desire to be sneered at for hours at a time. The few she couldn’t avoid, she ended up hiding in servants’ hall with the serving maids. 

“He wouldn’t insist this strongly, Jen, but there will be guests from all three realms.” At her small gasp, he nodded. “There’s a chance we can finally put an end to this conspiracy.”

He didn’t need to tell her twice. They had learned enough that the plot to overthrow the Prince was a multi-realm effort. She herself had been following leads and investigating for over a hundred years. She was starting to see how they thought. 

There was no way they’d turn down the opportunity to meet up in the Palace itself. 

They arrived at a servant’s entrance to the Palace, and he frowned at her as she moved to enter. He was constantly on her case about ignoring her station. He blocked her, his gaze telling her there was zero chance she was going to use the _servants’ entry._ She sighed, and shook her head in amusement. He crossed his arms and glared at her, planting himself in her way. 

She recognized a lost battle when she saw one. Jen smiled and waved an ironic salute at Barbatos. She turned to go down the path, but hadn’t gone far when she heard him call her name. 

She looked back at him, and saw his eyes glow. 

“The time is near.”

She semi-scoffed at him. “You said that to me earlier when you texted me.”

He shook his head, and his eyes cleared. “No, Jen. It’s imminent.” He smiled sadly at her fleeting expression of hope, before she hid it from him. She had been waiting so long. 

She laughed, awkwardly. “I’ll believe it when I see it, Barb. I’m too old to get my hopes up.” She thought she was being smooth, but her wringing hands gave her away. 

He scoffed. “You’re not even 200 yet. You’re a baby.” He shoo’d her away. “Go. I have a million things to do, and you’re keeping me from them.” 

Jen smiled and bowed at him, sarcastically. “Fine. I’ll go through the front door like a good little baby.” She walked away, laughing. 

Barbatos took a minute to admire her from behind before he went inside. 

———————

Jen walked up the imposing stairs leading to the Palace’s main doors and nodded at the guards. They were the best of the best, trained by Beelzebub himself. But they still didn’t challenge her at the door, instead holding the door open for her and letting her in. 

Sloppy. 

“Welcome home, Lady Jen,” the butler bowed at her as she entered the gigantic foyer. He straightened with a twinkle in his eye that was just for her. 

“Thank you, Barbatos. I hope everything is well with you this evening?” She loved how fast he could flip between friend and butler. She continued walking to the giant arching stairwell. 

“Very well, My Lady. Do you need any assistance this evening?” Following behind by precisely two steps, Barbatos was the epitome of a proper butler. 

“Could you please have dinner sent to my rooms tonight? It’s been a very long day, and I have even a longer night ahead of me.” She was starting to feel the emotional toll of the combination of the funeral, the confrontation with the archangel, and the verbal battle with Lucifer. The quiet interlude with Barbatos helped, but it had been a long ass day. 

“Very well, My Lady,” he bowed and disappeared to wherever butlers go when they need to buttle. 

She climbed to her floor and walked down the hall to her rooms. She entered the suite, and as predicted, Ajax was sprawled in front of the fire, gnawing on a giant bone. He looked up when she entered, and rumbled softly in greeting. 

She kicked her Louboutins off, her feet screaming in relief after being jammed in a six inch stiletto all day. She bent down and grabbed them and headed to the bedroom, unbuttoning her blouse on her way. 

She stopped cold in the doorway. 

“Don’t stop on my account,” a low voice chuckled. 

She turned to glare at the hellhound in the living room. He kept unapologetically chewing on the bone. He always did have a soft spot for the demon in front of her. 

She continued on as if Belphegor wasn’t sprawled out on her bed, walking into her walk-in closet to put away her shoes and to change into her comfortable clothes, away from his sleepy gaze. “What do you want, Belphegor?” she called out to him. 

“It can wait until you’re out here, doll. I hate yelling,” came the low reply. 

She rolled her eyes. Ever since he found out that she secretly ran half of the intelligence operations in Devildom, she hasn’t been able to stop him from calling her all kinds of pet names. 

He said it was to keep her humble. She thinks it’s because he’s an asshole. 

She walked out of her closet, wearing yoga pants and a baggy t-shirt, her feet bare. 

Belphegor smirked. “Awww, you didn’t need to get all dressed up for me.”

She glared at him, and pointedly walked out of her bedroom and into the living room. She curled up in the corner of one of the couches. 

She could hear him sigh and roll off of her bed, and shuffle into the living room. He threw himself onto the opposite couch. 

She leaned over the arm of the couch, and started stroking Ajax. “What’s going on, Belphie?”

Belphegor was laying on his back, arm over his eyes. “Hear you had a little archangel trouble today.”

She groaned. “Not you, too. I had a row with your Brother already today.”

He chortled, “I heard that, too.”

She sighed and pulled her arm back. “What’s bugging you about this?”

He lowered his arm and turned his face toward her. “Barb tell you about the ball?” At her nod, he continued. “We think there's an angel about to fall that’s part of all this.” He gazed sharpened. “You’re good, babe, but you’re not good enough to fight a fallen angel. Especially one just after a Fall but not turned yet.” His gaze turned bleak. “We were like rabid monsters before Lucifer made his deal.”

He gave himself a little shake. “Anyway, you were overheard talking to Simeon about Uriel.”

“Yeah, so? I talk to Simeon about a lot of things.”

Belphegor sat up and pinned her with a stern stare. “He told you that Uriel was going to search you out.” He leaned forward. “You cannot, CANNOT, be alone with him. If he’s close enough to Falling to worry Michael, you are in danger.”

Jen unfolded herself from the corner, placing her feet on the floor. “He’s an archangel, Belphie. I can’t stop him from approaching me when out in the field.” Seeing the look on his face, she held up a hand. “You do NOT get to tell me to stay put. I have a job to do.”

Belphegor puffed himself up to yell, but thought better of it. He rubbed his eyes, like he was too tired to deal with this right now. “Just… just be careful.” He hauled himself up, getting ready to go. 

“Oh shit, I forgot!” Her outburst took him by surprise. “The door guards didn’t challenge me. They just let me in.”

“Really.” The look on Belphegor’s face didn’t bode well for the guard captain. “I’ll take care of it.”

She nodded. “Thanks.”

He paused at the door to the suite. “You’re not going to ask me to take it easy on them?”

She curled back up into her corner. Their gazes caught, and they both burst out laughing. 

“Get out of here, you idiot.” 

He was still laughing when he left the suite. 

Jen patted the couch beside her, and Ajax gave up his bone and joined her on the couch. He curled into her side and the two of them cuddled until her meal arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sneaky Barbatos slid in before I knew it. As much as I wanted to avoid spoilers in the tags, I decided to update them. 
> 
> And I hope Barb's chapter (six days away) doesn't make me bump the rating up.


	11. Pandas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt for today was "Pandas" and I couldn't figure out how to work it into the story. Then this happened.

_The next day_

Jen woke at the sound of a light knock on the door of her suite. In a flash, Ajax was at her side, his full attention on the door. He stayed at her side as she shuffled from the bed to the door.

The fact that Ajax was staying by her side instead of popping to the other side of the door to maim whoever dared disturb them meant that he knew at least one person out there. The fact he wasn’t still sprawled on the carpet meant they had strangers with them.

He was such a good boy.

Keeping her hand on Ajax’s head, she opened the door. What she saw made her try to slam it closed right away. Only Barbatos’s quick reflexes stopped her, and the scolding look he sent her made her want to throw things at him.

Barb bullied his way through the door in the way all of the best butlers knew, holding the door open for the being who followed him. Jen trudged into the living area and flopped face down on a couch. A snooty sniff sounded behind her, and Jen groaned.

Barbatos directed the set-up of the equipment the being’s team had brought with them, and then ordered the crew to leave. “My Lady, the designer is here for you.”

With a heavy sigh, Jen hoisted herself from the couch. She gave Ajax the sign for “be good, guest, but don’t trust”, and he settled on the hearth. He would stay awake for as long as necessary to watch her back. She shuffled herself to the trifold mirror and temporary platform that had been hastily set up in her room.

An angry sniff greeted her, and she finally bothered to greet the snooty designer that was taking up a large portion of her living space. “Hey, Bear.”

Barbatos swallowed a smile as he crossed the room to close the curtains over the window seat.

The Bear in question puffed up to her full eight of eight feet. Jen supposed she would feel more intimidated if she wasn’t dealing with a demon that looked exactly like a giant panda. If a giant panda had primate-like hands and liked to wear designer clothing.

“My NAME, human, is Cassidia deQuik.” The panda looked down her substantial nose at the human in question. “You look like trash. Go clean yourself before you touch the work of art that I have lowered myself to create for you.” 

Jen puffed her chest up to answer back, when Barb placed a firm hand on the small of her back. “Lady Jen, please go ready yourself for the day. We shall organize things here.” The panda sniffed and turned her back, as if Jen was beneath her notice. Barb tipped Jen a wink when he saw the panda wasn’t looking.

Cheered up a bit, Jen headed into her bedroom into her ensuite to take a shower.

\---------------

Barb waited for Jen to be in the shower before he addressed the demon designer. “If you think you can talk to a Lady of the Court like that, you are sadly mistaken.” He never lost his half smile, even as his aura pulsed with his anger.

The panda refused to quail before him. “A _human_ is beneath my talents! I am the most talented designer in the Three Realms! I dressed the _elite!_ ” She stopped cold at the low growling from the fireplace hearth. She turned her head slowly, and saw that Ajax had risen to his feet and was staring directly at her. She gulped, taking a step back.

Barbatos smiled and crossed his arms. “You will treat the Lady with the respect due her station. Do I have to remind you what the consequences will be if you fail?” The panda quailed in fear. She had just spent the last 500 years as a rug at an all-boys boarding school in the human realm.

“Please no. Have mercy. _Boys are so gross._ I can’t do that again!!!” She had actually fallen on her knees in front of the butler, begging for mercy. 

Barb smothered a smile. It had been one his Lord’s more creative punishments, and one he didn’t fully appreciate at the time. From the looks of it, it was quite effective.

“Then stand up and prepare the gown. I trust that it is a true work of art, like all of your designs.” Jen was going to come out of her room any minute, and he wanted to save the panda her dignity.

Cassidia stood up, still shaken. She took a shuddering breath and collected herself. “Of COURSE it’s a work of art! I do nothing else!” She turned to the large garment bag hanging from the mirror. She unzipped it, and Barbatos took a quick breath.

“It’s _exquisite,_ ” he breathed. 

The panda nodded matter of factly, and started removing it from the bag. “It’s one of my best,” said the panda. Barb appreciated a crafts-person who knew their worth. 

Jen walked out of the bedroom, wrapped in her robe. Her eyes went immediately to the dress. She gasped, and approached it, reverently. She examined it from all angles as the panda held it. She looked at the panda with new respect. “This is beautiful. You are truly a great artist.”

And Barbatos smothered a grin with his hand, as the Lady Jen made another conquest.

The panda fluttered her hands, flattered. “Yes, yes, but the true art will show once on the person it was made for! Let’s get you set. You’ll see! You will be the talk of the ball!” The designer grinned. “And then _I_ will be the talk of the ball!”

Jen laughed, and stepped up on the platform. Barbatos, seeing that the relationship between the women had calmed down, excused himself, with a promise to be back shortly with coffee and food. 

She shrugged her robe off, and the panda eyed her form with a critical eye. The panda walked around her, looking at her reflection in the tri fold mirror, and then back at her body. Jen started getting antsy (and cold), and asked if there was a problem. 

The panda shook her head. “There’s no problem. You’re athletic, with lots of defined muscles. You won’t need the shape wear that I had designed for you.” The demon grinned, which was a terrifying sight. “You are going to be the envy of all! Now let’s get this dress on you!”

A short time later, Jen thought Cassidia may know more about her body than she did. She had been pinned, poked and stabbed by pins and clips, but there was no doubt that the panda knew her art. 

“And YES! Turn, My Lady! We are done!” 

Jen spun in place on the platform, until she could see herself reflected in the trifold mirror. Her jaw dropped. 

She. Looked. Stunning. 

The dress was a sleeveless a-line gown of what looked like dull gold. It was elaborately beaded with tiny gold and silver seed beads in a subtle flame pattern. The straps were two inches wide and the bodice tight. She twisted her hips to check the flow of the dress, and it swung perfectly with the weight of the beads. And best of all…

“It has pockets!” She gasped.

Cassidia smiled. “Of course! The pockets also snap shut, so no need for an evening bag.” She clapped her hands in joy. “I can’t wait to see you in full hair and makeup!”

“I agree,” came a soft reply from behind them. 

Jen used the mirror to look behind her. Barbatos had just entered the suite with a cart of snacks. She met his gaze, and tried to ignore the heat that shined there. 

Flustered, she cleared her throat. “So, uh, what about the gloves?”

The panda frowned. “Absolutely not. They’ll ruin the line of the gown.”

Jen prepared for an argument. She needed the gloves, so she didn’t touch anyone. She assumed Barb had something on the designer to blackmail her into doing this fitting herself. 

“The time for gloves is past.” Barb stated. She spun to confront him, and he sent a warning glance her way. He trusted the designer to design, but not for the rest. 

The panda didn’t notice their silent conversation, she was busy packing up all of her things. “Won’t you join me for brunch, Cassidia?” Jen invited. 

The panda shook her gigantic head. “No, No, I need to get this dress back to my shop so it’s ready by the day after tomorrow.” She swiftly undid the zipper and deftly pulled the dress up over Jen’s head before she could protest. Jen’s shocked gaze met Barb’s amused grin in the mirror. 

Jen dove for her robe and threw it on. 

The panda demon kept talking the whole time she was packing up, informing them that she would also handle the hair and makeup the day of the event. (“Art must be perfect, darlings!) and with air kisses to Jen, disappeared in a flurry of bags and needles. 

Shocked, Jen turned to Barbatos. “Uh, holy shit.”

He kept grinning, and set up the food on the dining set. “Come here. Let’s feed you. It’ll all make sense in a minute.” He held a chair out for her, and pushed her chair in as she sat. 

He served her food and tea before taking his seat on the other side of the table. 

“You don’t have to do that, Barb,” she said. “I am perfectly able to do it myself.”

He frowned at her. “I wish you would realize that you are worth being treated like the lady you are. Just because you deal with the dregs of society doesn’t mean that YOU are the dregs of society.” He took a sip of his tea. 

She ate her breakfast slowly, lost in thought. No gloves anymore. Barb telling her that she needed to demand her place. Required to attend a ball…

“How much is that dress going to cost me?” She asked, absently. She was well off both in the Human Realm (thanks to Solomon) and in hell (thanks to Mammon), but a haute couture work like that was going to be a stretch. 

Barbatos placed his tea cup precisely on his saucer. “It is a Crown expense.” He avoided looking at her in the eye. 

She blinked, surprised. “Barb…”

“Hmm?” He still wasn’t looking at her. 

“WHO is attending this ball?” She demanded, every inch the Lady behind her request. 

Barb smiled in appreciation. “We managed to get the heads of several Human Realm countries and the UN, plus some high level covens. And of course, the entire Court and Council.”

“Who. Else. Barb.” She was getting angry now. She hated when friends tried to play her. But demons are going to demon. 

Barbatos looked down at the table, took a breath, and looked up. “And two choirs of angels.”

“FUCK, Barb!!” She exclaimed. This was too much. And it started to all make sense. 

“Diavolo is showing me off.” She stated. He didn’t do it often, but when confronted with a show of power, he liked showing off his assets to remind them that he was not weak. Which meant…

“When is my meeting with Lucifer about this?” She groaned. The two of them would be paraded around as a slap to the Celestial Realm’s face. 

Barb dabbed his napkin on his mouth. “In about thirty minutes. He’ll be joining us here.” He gave a saucy look to her robe. “So, while _I_ would never complain about seeing all of your skin, you should probably get dressed.”

She stood with a sigh, and walked to her bedroom. Today called for comfort, but not sloppy. She dressed herself in nice jeans and a sweater, but decided to skip shoes. She always hated wearing shoes in her rooms, preferring to go barefoot. 

She padded out to the main area and rejoined Barbatos at the dining set. 

She had her armor on, and she was ready for battle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used two dresses as a reference. One is found on macduggal-dot-com, style 20114H. The other is on Neimanmarcus-dot-com, prod228980568


	12. Error Messages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CW: Somebody gets drunk

Jen and Barbatos had just moved to the seating area of the suite, when there was an imperious knock on the door. Already on the defensive, and not inclined to move from the couch, Jen yelled at the door. “Come in!”. 

Barb stood and shot her an annoyed glare. She gave a mocking glare back at him and remained seated, and sipped her tea. He crossed the room to the door, and reached it just as it opened. His eyes flared a bit before he swept into a deep bow.

“My Lords, please accompany me to the seating area, and I will serve you refreshments.”

Jen hastily got to her feet, as she saw Lord Diavolo had accompanied Lucifer to her suite. Lucifer, standing slightly behind Diavolo, smirked at her haste.

_Fucker_ , she thought.

Lord Diavolo had a large and loud presence in the best of times, and here in her small suite, he filled the room, even though he only took up half of the couch. Lucifer sat next to him, and Barbatos was standing behind them, fussing with the tea cart.

Jen sat on the couch opposite the three most powerful demons in creation, feeling every inch the plain old human she was. 

Ajax howled and disappeared. He knew better than to stay in the presence of the future Demon King.

Diavolo smiled jovially at her. The two of them almost always got along. What had, at first, been a strategic middle finger to the Celestial Realm, had developed in a working partnership built on mutual respect. He appreciated that she had never once tried to lie to him, and she appreciated his genuine enjoyment of existence. 

“Jen! Hello!! I decided that I would come to your tea time with Lucifer!” He beamed like this was his best idea ever. “I thought it would be fun to watch you two try not to argue in front of me!” 

_No one can do a devious grin like the Devil,_ Jen thought.

Jen grinned at the Prince, and replied, “We can certainly get pretty ridiculous, My Lord.”

Lucifer sat up straighter and glared down his nose at her. Diavolo roared with laughter. “Excellent opening shot, Jen!” He cut his eyes slyly to Lucifer, silently egging him on.

Lucifer refused to rise to the bait, instead taking the cup of tea that Barbatos handed him. 

“Hold on now, Lucifer,” Diavolo started, “before you drink that, let’s add a little something to it.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a flask of Demonus. He opened it and added a liberal splash to Lucifer’s tea. He capped it and passed it back to Barbatos with a wink. “Add that to all them, would you, Barb?”

Barbatos half bowed. “Of course, sir.” He busied himself on the tea cart, then served Diavolo his tea before coming to take Jen’s cup from her to prepare hers. He passed it back to her when he was finished, and she took a cautious sip. She hated the taste of Demonus, but didn’t want to give offense to the prince. 

It was plain tea, prepared how she liked it.

She raised her eyebrows in what could be interpreted as surprise or appreciation. Diavolo caught her eye, and tipped her a wink. Huh. This meeting just went from a chore to interesting.

“Alright, now let’s discuss what your roles will be at the ball.” Diavolo shot his tea back like it wasn’t boiling hot, and gestured to Lucifer to do the same. Lucifer frowned, but followed suit. He glared at Jen and her cup, and she shook her head with a polite smile.

“I’m human, I’d pass out before the third cup was even poured. There’s no way I could keep up with you.” She pretended to look sheepish, and sent out a little thread of humility so Lucifer would believe her.

He snorted and looked even more superior, as Barb refilled his cup. “Lovely of you to get dressed for our meeting, Jen. Was appropriate footwear too hard for you to figure out this morning?” He stared at her bare toes, like they offended him.

She wiggled her toes in the thick carpet, each nail perfectly painted a cute blush pink. “I’m sorry, Lucifer, if I had known you were going to wear a cape at eleven in the morning, I definitely would have worn my Crocs with the rhinestones, to match your tacky taste.” She beamed sunnily up at him.

Diavolo snorted, and got them back on topic. “This is the kind of banter I hope happens at the ball, by the way. That’s why I’ve paired you at the dinner and you’ll be escorting each other to the ball.” Jen noticed that he had stopped drinking the liquor-laced tea, but Lucifer was on his third cup.

“WHAT?!” they both exclaimed. They looked at each other in bafflement. The one thing they both agreed on was their respect for the Demon Prince, and they both knew that putting the two of them together would be an explosive mix, that could only mean trouble for the Court and Council.

Barb gave Lucifer a giant glass of Demonus, and he drank it without looking. He was starting to get a little glassy-eyed. 

Lord Diavolo became stern. “In order to prove our strength to the Celestial Realm, I need both of you to present a united front, in front of the three realms. You are the Stars in my Crown, and I will have this.” He looked behind him at Barbatos. Barb looked at Lucifer, who was just starting to sway. He looked back at his lord, and nodded. 

Lord Diavolo stood suddenly, causing both Jen and Lucifer to scramble to their feet, Jen considerably more gracefully than Lucifer. He waved them both back down to their seat, grinning as he watched Lucifer wobble as he sat. “I trust the two of you WILL work out a plan. I will leave you to it. Come, Barbatos, we’ve taken up enough of their time.” He waved them to keep seated as he and Barb headed to the door. “I don’t need to know your plans, I just need them to work.” He nodded once more as Barb held the door open for him, and left.

Barb tipped a wink at her before closing the door behind him and following the prince.

Jen found herself staring at a very inebriated Lucifer. He shocked her by beaming at her sunnily. 

“I am going to take my cape off! Then my jacket! Your rooms are so cozy and warm!”

She watched, bemused, as he stood and promptly got tangled in his cape. She lost her composure completely when he started laughing at it, and calling it a silly octopus. She laughed at him while he figured out how a coat worked.

When he got himself settled, he sat back on the couch in front of her, his eyes full of laughter. 

“I like your smile,” he said abruptly. “You never smile at me, but you do at my brothers, and I like when you do that. I like your toes, too. They are very cute.”

She couldn’t be more shocked. He kept talking. It seemed someone was lightweight drunk, and it was fucking _adorable._ “You are very smart.” He nodded, agreeing with himself. Then he pouted.

“Why did you stop us from looking? We could be happy finally. Lilith could make us happy.” He looked so sad. He peered at her. “You are not from Lilith. But you know first hand that Father is a little bitch. Why didn’t you help us?” A single tear ran down his face.

OH no. Not a chance. She wasn’t dealing with a weepy Lucifer. He reminded her of the college parties she went to, when she somehow got stuck with the crying girl EVERY TIME.

“Because by all accounts, Lilith died happily as a human,” she said, slowly, trying to get through his liquor-addled brain. “Why would God send you someone who was happy with her choices? Someone who loved and died so happy? This isn’t only about _you._ ”

He tried to pull himself up, but he wobbled. He giggled ( _jesus christ,_ thought Jen), and sang, “I sUpPoSe Soooo…” He was swaying in his seat.

She sighed, and stood up. She walked to a linen closet and grabbed an extra pillow. She walked to his couch, placed the pillow on one end. “Here, lay down,” she patted the pillow. 

He beamed even brighter at her. “You are so nice. I was so mean to you. But you are nice! To ME!” He crashed down onto the pillow, and she used his cape to cover him up. 

She went back to her spot on her couch, and she tried to get the conversation back to where it needed to be. “So how do you want to do this ball thing? Do you want to arrive together or meet up there?”

“I’ll let you know,” in a faux snooty manner. Followed by a soft snore. 

_Oh for fuck’s sake._

Irritated that the Avatar of Pride was passed out in her living room, she huffed as she got up and walked to her bedroom to grab her D.D.D. Standing by her bed, she texted a bitchy text to Barb exactly what she thought of this bullshit he set her up with. 

He responded with a sunny happy face emoji and otherwise ignored her.

Swearing under her breath, she walked back into her living room, D.D.D. in hand. She stopped cold at the nonsense in front of her.

Lucifer had managed to unplug the lamp on the side table, and was hugging it. She side-eyed her D.D.D., trying to decide if death would be worth the joy she would get from taking a picture and sending it to his Brothers.

She walked over to him, and knelt by him. “Hey, Lucifer,” she said, softly. “Why are you hugging the lamp?”

He opened his eyes, and Jen realized how close they were. She found herself getting lost in his uncharacteristically soft gaze. 

“Because,” he said, “it works so hard. And no one ever thanks it. No one ever appreciates it.” 

_Oh Lucifer._

He reached a gloved hand out to touch her face. “Like you. Like me. No one knows.”

She surprised herself by leaning into his hand, and closing her eyes.   
She had no idea how long they stayed like that, and only pulled away when she felt the pressure change in Lucifer’s hand. She opened her eyes to see him gazing unnervingly into her eyes. His eyes darted to her mouth, and back to her gaze.

She sat back on her heels with a soft sigh, not breaking eye-contact. “Not while you’re drunk, Luci. That’s not fair to either of us.”

Lucifer closed his eyes, with a soft nod. “I like your toes,” he stated softly, and then settled into a real sleep.

She sighed, and decided that she did _not_ want to be here when he woke up sober. She grabbed a pair of cute heels and left to go sit in the new bower in the garden that Barbatos had made because of her.

\---------------

When she arrived, she settled at the bistro table and pulled out her D.D.D., intending to check in on her various teams, and to prep them for the influx of guests for the coming week. A rustle from the ivy drew her attention. 

She stood cautiously, and walked to the little room hidden by ivy. All senses on alert, she slowly moved the ivy to the side. She was surprised to see an anxious Archangel standing there.

“Hello Uriel.”

The archangel was wringing his hands, and if the room was big enough, he would have been pacing. He looked like a drug addict going through the beginning of detox. His eyes were wild. “Jen. I need to talk to you. Now. We need to talk now.”

She stepped cautiously back, Belphegor’s warning in her mind. “Anyone know you’re here, Uriel? Is there anyone I can call for you? Should we bring Simeon here?”

He shook his head violently, “No no no no no no no, no one knows. Simeon is ok. You can let him know. No one else.” He was vibrating with tension.

She sent a quick text with Simeon, knowing he would let everyone else know. She tried to keep Uriel talking, hoping it would calm him down.

“How can I help you, Uriel? Why are you looking for me?” She backed slowly to the bistro table, trying to lure him out of the little room, and into the open. 

He followed her, slowly. “I’m going to Fall, Jen. I want to. I want to Fall. The Father was wrong! HE WAS WRONG! What he did to you was WRONG!” he was roaring at her, moving closer to the table. 

Jen prided herself on staying calm in terrifying situations, a much needed skill when your homebase is Hell. But this. This was almost too much. 

She reached deep inside herself, finding a last bit of courage. “You can’t,” she replied, pretending calmness.

That caught him flat-footed. “But the Father was wrong-” She held a hand up stopping him, silently hoping he didn’t see her shaking.

“You promised me.”

His eyes cleared, partly. “But how can you-”

“ _You promised._ ” She said, firmly. “You promised you would look after them. That you would train them. You Fall, and they will all suffer.” She saw Simeon skidding to a halt on the pathway behind Uriel. She heard Ajax’s howl, and knew backup was on the way.

Uriel crouched on the ground, head in his hands. “How can you forgive Him?! How can you live with this?!” 

She knew better than to go near him to comfort him. He was too close to snapping. “Because there are things I cannot change. Because I would make exactly the same choice, even knowing the punishment. There is _nothing_ I would change about all of this. I do not regret my choices, and while I am being punished, I have found ways to make it less of a burden.” She raised her eyes to Simeon, who was approaching Uriel.

Simeon laid his hands on the back of Uriel’s head, giving comfort only an angel could grant. “My brother, are you all alone in this?” he murmured. Uriel nodded, grabbing Simeon’s cape and burying his face in its folds. 

She caught a glimpse of Mammon, Beelzebub, and Belphegor as they surrounded the little bower. 

“I could not burden anyone else with this,” Uriel softly cried. 

Simeon stroked his hair. “You haven’t talked to any humans or demons, either?” Uriel shook his head and continued to cry.

The three Brothers stepped forward, Mammon leading the way. The three of them enveloped Uriel and Simeon in a giant group embrace. In that moment, she could see the angels the Brothers used to be. 

Uriel shook them off gently, and stood. He wiped his tears, and turned to Jen. “Thank you, my friend. I will keep my promise.” He turned to the Brothers, and nodded at them, with love in his eyes. He at last turned to Simeon and gave him a hug. Simeon embraced him in return, and in a flash, the angels were gone.

Jen sat down hard at the table. She lifted her eyes to the three Brothers. Mammon was hugging the twins as tightly as he could, whispering to them, comforting them. The three of them took the moment, solidifying their bond.

The three broke apart from each other, and she could see that all was well for now. They approached her to check on her, and she smiled at them.

Mammon collapsed into the other chair, and swung his head toward Jen. “How ya doin’, kid?” 

She grinned, “I’m fine. I watched Lucifer get drunk this morning.”

Mammon slowly grinned, and Belphie and Beel chuckled. “Where’s he now?” the second-born asked. “I bet we gotta roll ‘im home.”

“I left him passed out on my couch. I’d be super grateful if you did take him home.”

When the four of them arrived at her suite, they found Lucifer curled up on the floor, wrapped around the lamp. 

“I hope you weren’t attached to that lamp,” Mammon laughed. “‘Cause you ain’t gettin’ it back!”

Beel nodded. “That’s basically how we furnished the family room. Random furniture Lucifer hugs when he’s drunk.” He wasted no more time, hoisting Lucifer over his shoulder. Belphie held the door open for his twin and the two of them left with the dead weight of their brother and her lamp.

Mammon chuckled. He put his hands in his pockets, and cocked his head at her. “You did good today. And not only with Uriel.” He nodded at her and also left. 

Jen wandered around her rooms, picking up the assorted detritus that accumulated from the fitting and a drunk. 

Good lord, it was going to be a weird week.


	13. Festival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CW: Violence. Jen gets shit done.

_Halfway through the ball_

She ran quickly down the hallway, her skirts held high, heels clicking. She hoped she would make it in time. 

Lives were on the line. 

————-

Belphegor stood in front of the prisoner. A human sat on the floor, a metal collar around his neck, which was connected to the wall behind him with a chain. A look of hatred and defiance marred his handsome features. 

“So this is him?” Belphie asked. 

“It certainly is,” confirmed Asmodeus. 

“Huh,” was the unimpressed reply. 

They were in a storage room in a wing well away from the ballroom. All seven of the Brothers were in attendance, along with Prince Diavolo and Barbatos. The ball was currently in full swing, and they didn’t have much time before they were missed. 

Belphie squatted down in front of the prisoner, with his elbows on his knees, hands relaxed between his knees. “I don’t suppose you want to save us some time and tell us which demons you’re working with?”

The human spit at the demon. A low growl started up behind them. 

“I’m alright, Satan,” Belphie stated, never taking his eyes from the prisoner. “It’s not like they’re poisonous.”

The human refused to talk. 

Belphie stood with a sigh, and exchanged a look with his twin. Beelzebub nodded once, and placed a large equipment bag on the table. Belphie opened the bag, and made a show of laying out all of his tools onto the table. “Asmo, can you please remind me what this human was doing in the ballroom?”

A hum in the affirmative, and Asmo replied. “This little mouse was trying to recruit the human guests into his game, brother dear!” Asmo stepped forward. “He was telling them that there’s a big contingent of demons and humans that HATE the idea of demons and humans, what word did he use?” Asmo pretended to remember, finger tapping his chin. He snapped his fingers. “Ah, that’s right! He doesn’t want us fucking the human women!” Asmo rolled his eyes. “Apparently, everyone else is fair game.” 

The human sneered at Asmo, but Asmo was having none of it. “I wouldn’t fuck you, don’t worry.”

Asmo retreated to the shadows to stand with the others, letting Belphie run the show. Beel stood by as support for Belphegor. 

Belphie grabbed a nasty looking pair of pliers and approached the human. “So. Finger, toe, or talking?”

“Fuck you,” the human spat. “You can’t touch me. The treaty protects all humans from harm.”

Belphie shrugged. “Sure, until the end of the festival. You’ll be dead of thirst by then.” He signaled to the shadows. 

Satan stepped forward and he and Belphegor stepped away from the human. Beel kept watch. 

“There is no way around the charm,” said Satan. “I checked. We can’t touch him.”

Belphie nodded, unworried. Satan looked at him, confused. He thought his Brother would throw a fit at this, but instead, he seemed almost… pleased. 

A knock sounded at the door, followed shortly by it creeping open slowly. The demons all faded into the shadows, hiding their presence. 

“He-hello?” called a woman’s voice. “James? I’m looking for James?” She stepped into the room. “Is anyone here?” Mammon almost revealed himself to her, but a sharp tug from Belphie made him stay put. 

The human chained to the wall thought that the demons had left him. “Jen? Jen, is that you?!”

Jen gasped, and ran to the wall where the human sat, chained. “Oh James! What happened to you??” She dropped her skirts and clasped her hands to her chest. 

(Belphie snorted in the shadows.)

“Oh, sweet Jen. Those evil demons did this to me.” He looked up at her from hooded eyes. “Could you possibly free me?”

(“Is that normie trying to SMOLDER?!” Hissed Levithan)

Jen dithered, wringing her hands. “Oh I don’t know how! I’ll go get your friends! What were their names! I’ll go get them!!” She lifted her skirts, preparing to run. 

James was starting to lose patience. “Shut UP, you stupid bitch!” (Lucifer had to hold Mammon back) He snarled at her. 

She stepped back, “James, I don’t understand! I’ll go get your friends!! They can help! You _said_ they would help!”

James tried to keep his temper. Afterall, this airhead was the only way out at the moment. “Ok. Go get Lord Thraklehurst. He can help.”

Jen turned and looked toward the shadowed corner, and sent them a wink. 

(Barbatos was already on the way to seize Lord Thraklehurst)

She suddenly turned back to him, “But what if I can’t find him?! I’m just a human!! Who else should I look for?” 

James lost it. “OH MY GOD. Any other human would have helped me right away! You stupid whore!! Come take this fucking collar off of me!!!!”

(The Brothers were going to intervene, but they saw Belphegor’s smirk. Confused, they stood down.)

Jen smiled, and sauntered back to James, her entire demeanor changed. She rolled her hips as she walked seductively toward the wall. “Yes,” she purred. “Another human WOULD help you.” She leaned over him, grabbed his hair, and yanked his head back until it slammed the wall behind him. 

Still holding his hair in a tight grip, she whispered in his ear. “But I’m not that kind of human.” She released his hair and straightened up. She glided over to the table and started sorting through Belphegor’s tools. 

James was starting to panic. “You can’t hurt me!! The treaty!!”

Jen tilted her head back toward him, tapping the flat side of a knife against her mouth. “Human, remember?” She turned back and continued to look through the tools. 

Belphegor and Beelzebub decided to join her, and came out of the shadows. “You look beautiful tonight, doll,” Belphie purred at her. 

Her back to James, she gave the twins a wink. 

“Shame if that dress got splatter on it,” Belphie continued. She smirked at him, and they both grinned when they heard the gasp from Leviathan’s corner. 

“You are absolutely correct. Can you help me with the zipper?” She held in a giggle at the multiple smothered gasps in the room. 

Belphie approached her with hooded eyes, glancing at James to gauge his reaction. Belphegor kept her back toward James, making sure the human had the best view in the house. 

He grasped the zipper toggle at the top of the dress, pulling it down slowly, so slowly, making sure to maintain eye contact with James. 

James was tense, but as the zipper went lower, and a tattoo appeared, he panicked. “Oh FUCK! IT’S YOU! It’s you it’s it’s you it’s you, fuck oh fuck…”

Jen shrugged her shoulders and the dress fell off her body, leaving her clad on in her bra, lace boy shorts, and her strappy heels. Asmo appeared to gather the dress and keep it clean and safe. James continued to mutter. 

She cocked her head at the tools, and smiled at Beel. “Hey, puddin’, can you please pass me that bat?” (Levi snickered in the background)

James lost control of his bladder. 

Beel looked at her with heat in his eyes, and handed her the baseball bat, fat end first. 

She smiled at him. “Thanks, puddin’.” She flipped the bat in the air and caught it by the handle. 

She approached James, planted her feet, and swung with all of her strength.

“THRAKLEHURST MEPHISTO BARTLES AND VENDER!!!”

She stopped her swing cold, the bat a molecule away from his temple. “Repeat that please?” She asked politely. 

“My family has been working with Thraklehurst, Mephisto, Bartles and Vender for generations! Please DON’T HURT ME!!!!” He cowered on the floor, all previous bravado gone. 

“And what have you been doing with them?” She asked, bat still held at his head. Her demeanor more akin to a Sunday picnic and less than a standard torture session. 

“We were to undermine the human/demon alliance to destabilize the Prince’s rule. Then Mephisto was to slide in and take the crown.” He was shivering uncontrollably. 

“One more question, James, dear. Before I finish up.” James lost control of his bowel. “Are there any other humans or angels involved?”

He looked at her incredulously, tears in his eyes. “Are you kidding? _You_ destroyed the rest of the families involved! My family only lived because we hid!” No emotion crossed her face, other than an eyebrow quirk to remind him there was a second part to the question. “No angels. The demons didn’t trust them.”

Still holding the bat to James’s head, she looked back at Belphegor. “Did you get enough?”

He ran eyes down her body, and licked his lips. “Not even close, doll. But if you mean enough to void the treaty in his case, yeah.”

She smirked at him, and lowered the bat. She tossed it back to Beel with a wink, and walked to Asmodeus with no shame. 

“Zip me back up?” She asked, with a flirty smile. He smiled saucily back at her, and tossed the dress over her head. He slid the zipper up, using a practiced (and wandering) hand to make sure the dress laid just right. 

She looked toward the shadows, and as if summoned, the Brothers and their Prince appeared out of the shadows. 

It was the first time she had ever seen anything close to approval in Lucifer’s eyes. Mammon looked at her with blown pupils. Levi grinned at her. And Satan looked at her with respect. 

“A pleasure, gentlemen. Let me know if you need my help. Happy hunting.” She turned to the door. 

“Lady Jen.” She turned. “I expect you to take your place on the Council. You report next week.” Lord Diavolo commanded. 

Her eyes widened. There hadn’t been a new member of the Council in over three thousand years. She executed a perfect court curtsy, and opened the door. 

“Oh! Lady Maxillary! I am so happy to see you!” Her breathy voice was the complete opposite of the femme fatale that just resolved a centuries-long conspiracy. “I was trying to find a great place to watch the fireworks, and I am so hopelessly lost…” and the door closed behind her. 

The demons were left alone, with a human covered in his own waste. 

“Barbatos has Thraklehurst in custody.” Lord Diavolo started giving orders. “Admiral, Bartles is on the water, his entire clan is with him. Destroy him.” Leviathan nodded and left immediately. “Lord Satan, Vender is the lead archivist at the Library. Seize him, by whatever means necessary. I don’t care if you destroy the library to get him.” Satan bowed and hurried away (everyone knew that the library wasn’t getting destroyed). 

“Lord Asmodeus,” the Prince continued, “I want to deal with Mephisto personally, but I don’t want him to run.”

Asmo cocked his head, thinking. He nodded, coming to a decision. “I have a succubus and an incubus working tonight. I’ll have them team up. He’ll be in a bed and helpless in twenty minutes.” He spun and left the room. 

Lord Diavolo addresses the rest of the room. “I need to return to the ball.”

Lucifer bowed. “We will handle this.”

The Prince nodded and left, via a secret door. 

The four demons left turned and looked at the cowering human.

“She completely broke him,” said Mammon, awed. “She didn’t even hit him.” His pupils were blown, his breaths were short. 

Lucifer raised an eyebrow at him, but subtly rubbed his back. Mammon looked back at him and nodded slightly. 

Belphie and Beel exchanged a look. They knew they’d find Mammon hanging from the ceiling tonight, covered in bruises and blissed out of his mind. 

“What do you two have planned for the human?” Lucifer asked, as the four of them approached James. 

Belphie grinned at all of them, and waited until James dared to look at him. “You hungry, Beel?”

Beelzebub put his hands in his pockets, and considered the human in front of him. 

“Yeah. I could eat.”

Lucifer and Mammon hastily put up sound wards, finishing just in time for the screaming to start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this chapter written for months, but couldn't figure out what to do with it. The ObeyMAX challenge gave me the idea to flesh out Jen. So I added a few edits to make it fit into the current story (Belphie was a lot more handsy unzipping the dress in the first draft) and here we are.


	14. Lord Diavolo

_The beginning of the ball_

Diavolo thrummed with excitement. Eons of work will be paid off this evening. He hasn’t told anyone, although he believes Barbatos suspects, but his father has formally abdicated. He will bestow his mark of favor on his son at Court next week. 

He has Barbatos, Jen, Lucifer, and the Brothers to thank for this. Oh, he was always going to be king, that was never in doubt. But by gaining the loyalty of the strongest beings in the two realms, well. 

Let’s just say Dad was impressed.

A polite knock broke through his musing, and he saw Barbatos bowing. 

“It is time, My Lord.” 

Diavolo nodded. He and Lucifer had arranged the timing of the ball down to the second. He will be arriving first, to welcome the delegations. Humans were next, followed by the Celestial Realm. Then he would present his show of strength, the Stars in his Crown. 

He was in his demon form, as was Barbatos. All of the demons would be tonight. In a weird way, it put the humans at ease. 

No surprises. 

He walked through a secret passage that led to the throne in the ballroom. He didn’t need any introductions, he simply arrived and sat down, Barbatos standing slightly behind and to his right. The crowd of nobles already in the room simply quieted their murmuring and bowed as one. 

Diavolo lifted his hand, and the pageantry began. The main doors opened, and the court herald announced the human contingent. He already knew of them, and he could tell without even having to squint that almost all of them would’ve arrived here eventually anyway. He paid closer attention to the shinier souls, Jen told him that they'll be harder to work with, because they lie to themselves. 

Then came the angels. As expected, Michael was leading the choirs. Uriel was missing, of course, but it looked like Raphael made the trip. Simeon was there, along with his apprentice, Luke. There were thirty other non-descript angels, which was odd. Michael loved to show off his best and brightest. 

Maybe there truly was another rebellion in heaven brewing. 

He nodded to Michael and Raphael, and smiled at Simeon and Luke. The rest of the angels merely took their places along the edge of the ballroom. 

Anticipation filled him. This was it. This was everything this evening was about. 

There was no fanfare, no trumpets. Just a single gasp of breath that echoed from being to being. 

Lucifer Morningstar, the former Pride of Heaven, currently the Avatar of the Sin of Pride, stood tall and beautiful in the open double doorway of the ballroom in his full, winged glory. On his arm, the woman who defied God Himself on her terms and won, Jen, immortal, un-aging, brilliant and driven; dressed in a gown of gold and silver flames. They looked like royalty. 

And they were loyal to HIM. 

The Brothers walked in pairs behind them, all in full demon splendor. Six dangerous and powerful beings. 

Also loyal to him. 

Lucifer and Jen had reached the throne dais. Lucifer bowed low, while Jen performed a full court curtsy. The Brothers behind them bowed in unison. He waved them to standing, and waved Lucifer to stand next to him on his left. The Brothers dispersed to the edges, they all had duties to attend to. Jen gave him a saucy wink and moved to the side of the dais. 

He chuckled at her audacity, and stood. All eyes on him, he announced the start of the ball. He motioned to the band to start playing, as he walked to Jen to offer his hand for the opening dance. 

She smiled, and flowed into his arms. She had always been a fabulous dancer, which is why he always started any gathering that had dancing with her. She danced with no one else. 

Several more couples joined them on the dance floor, enough to give them an opportunity to speak without drawing attention to themselves. 

“You look lovely,” Diavolo complimented. “And you still dance as well as you did during our very first dance,” he teased. 

She laughed, “I am very grateful that you saved me from myself that day.” 

He spun her through a complicated turn sequence as he reflected on how he was lucky enough to get this powerhouse on his side. 

————————

_Around 119 years ago_

She approached the ballroom of the fancy hotel. She was nervous. One of her very best friends was getting married. She hadn’t seen any of her friends in over a year, since everything happened. She was nervous, but she had promised to be there for this. 

She had a gift in her hands, a joke really. The bride had had an awful streak of horrible dates right after the dissolvement of her first marriage. She dated one guy who was really into some new age bullshit, and he had two salt lamps in every room. So, of course, Jen figured she needed one of her own. 

As she approached the open doors of the ballroom, she took a deep breath. She had changed so much since she was last seen by her friends. 

She had decided that this was going to be the last time she even talked to any of them. Not aging would draw too many questions, and she couldn’t bear to watch them all die. She was treating this as one big secret goodbye, and she would disappear from their lives. They all had families and careers, it would be easy to slip away from them. 

She took her gift to the gift table, and placed it directly in the middle. She hadn’t bothered wrapping it. She turned away to find a seat for the ceremony, when she heard a cacophony of female laughter, followed by a “Jen’s totally here. Who else would bring a fucking salt lamp?!”

She turned, and caught the eye of her friend Jessica. Jessica screamed with joy, grabbing a handful of women to join her in rushing Jen into a giant group hug. She was surrounded by laughing and love, and support.

She was going to miss this. 

There wasn’t much time to chat, as the ceremony was getting ready to start. Jess leaned over to whisper in her ear, “The groom’s mom is really, REALLY awful. We think she’s going to try and fuck up the wedding.”

Jen narrowed her eyes. Not on her watch. Her girl was getting married today, and no bitch was going to ruin it for her. She moved away from Jess, saying that she saw someone she needed to greet. In reality, she sweet-talked her way into the groom’s family seats, directly behind where his mother was going to sit. She nodded politely to the large man with dark skin and red hair on her right, but otherwise kept to herself. 

Her hunch was correct, and when the officiant asked if there were any objections, the mother started to stand. Jen quickly kicked her chair so it hit the back of her knees and forced her to sit down again. The woman looked back at her in irritation, but Jen mouthed an apology like it was an accident. 

The man on her right let out a low chuckle. 

After that, the ceremony went off without a hitch, and it was time for the reception. As everyone mingled while the staff quickly transformed the room, Jen once again found herself surrounded by her friends, all of them hugging her and supporting her. Her heart filled with bittersweet happiness. 

Once the tables had been set up, her friends claimed them a table in the corner, closest to the open bar. Then the part of the evening that she was dreading the most opened. 

“I’m so sorry about Sarah and Curtis, Jen,” said Jessica, reaching out and tucking a lock of hair behind Jen’s ear. There were murmurs of support and love from all of the table at that. These women had held her hand virtually while she grieved the death of her husband and daughter. 

“Thank you,” she said. There’s really nothing else to say to that, she’s found. She was in a unique position in that she knew for a fact where they ended up, but it’s not like she could share it. 

“The attack changed you,” said her friend, Theresa. There had been an attack on Jen’s church, and she was the only survivor. “You’ve lost weight, and you look half of your age.”

She had a made up answer for that, at least. “Oh, don’t be fooled! That’s alllll Dr Zinsberg. I got the works!” 

She could count on her friends to fall for that. They were all in their forties and talked about cosmetic surgery constantly. 

As she suspected, they all got excited and started talking among themselves about work they’d like to get done. Then the wedding party came back from pictures, and the party was on. 

Jen took it upon herself to make sure the mother-in-law never got a chance to make a scene. For every sarcastic comment, Jen was there to turn it around on the mom. For every insinuation that the bride was unfaithful, Jen insinuated that the mother of the groom was the one having the affair. It was subtle warfare, but it was effective. 

She was sitting at her table, passively enjoying the conversations around her, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked up at the large man she had sat next to during the ceremony. 

“Would you care to dance,” he asked, smiling. A quick glance to see if her friends noticed (they totally did, and were all grinning at her), and she accepted. He offered his hand, and led her to the dance floor. 

He was a fantastic dancer, and Jen found herself relaxing for the first time in a year. “So,” he asked after a spin, “what do you have against poor Deanna?” It took her a second to realize that he meant the mother-in-law. 

“She has it out for my girl, and I’m not going to let anyone ruin her day.” She smiled at the large man as the dance ended. 

“Can I get you a drink?” The man offered. 

“No, I’m not drinking.”

“Not your sin, huh?” He smiled at her. “Then what _is_ your sin, I wonder.”

“None of them tonight,” she answered with an easy smile. His eyes crinkled at the corners as she walked away from him. 

She found herself strangely disconnected from all the people, feeling no sense of fitting in. She decided to call it a night, and left without saying goodbye. She walked slowly away from the hotel, heels clicking on the concrete pathway. She felt like she just cut a giant piece of her soul out and left it back at the reception. She stopped to gather herself, and sat on a bench. She took a breath to center herself and stared at the stars.

“You fucking slut.”

It took her a minute to realize the hissed words were directed at her. She moved her gaze from the sky to see an angry Deanna, the mother of the groom herself, standing in front of her. 

Jen stood up, and she towered over the woman. To Deanna’s credit, she didn’t back down. 

Jen’s voice became an easy drawl, full of contempt and disrespect. “I wasn’t aware we were exclusive. Did you want to be?” She paced slowly around Deanna, looking her up and down. She leaned into Deanna’s ear, “I could be a _very good friend.”_

She continued her circle until she was once again standing in front of the woman. 

“I don’t need a friend like you,” came the shakey reply. 

Jen chuckled evilly. “ _Everyone_ needs a friend like me.”

Deanna’s eyes became wide, and her fear started to show. 

“Too bad for you, Melinda found me first.” She leaned over into the woman’s personal space. “If I ever, _ever_ , hear that you interfered with her happiness at any time, I will _destroy_ you. No more garden club, or book club. I will have you banned from your fucking _church_.” Jen pulled back. “And no one will cry for you.”

The woman burst into scared tears, and Jen felt a little bad, but not like, _terrible._ The woman was a shrew. 

“That’s enough.” A firm voice cut into the night. Jen looked to her left and saw the large man had followed her out here. Before Jen could retort, he had leaned over Deanna. “Go. Go back to the wedding. Nothing has happened here tonight. You are fine.” Her eyes fogged over and she walked back to the hotel, as if in a daze. 

Jen was about to give him a piece of her mind, but saw the look on his face and thought better of it. 

“Introductions are in order, I believe.” He bowed a little. “I am Lord Diavolo, Crown Prince of Hell, ruler of the Devildom.” Her jaw dropped. “And you are Jen, the human that pissed off God.”

Jen nodded, feeling as if that was an as accurate description as any. 

“I’m here to offer you a place in my Court.” Her eyes widened, surprised. “I think that would be easier in the long run, given that you are immortal now.” He grinned. “I have better beings for you to bully, instead of bored housewives.”

Jen thought it over. The idea of really sticking it to heaven had its appeal. Her punishment was to stay ever unchanging as she watched everything she cared about wither and die, over and over again. 

Doesn’t matter if you’re in a place where nothing withers or dies, right?

“Ok.”

He seemed taken aback by her easy acceptance. “That quick?” 

“I don’t have anything else holding me here.”

He nodded. “Alright. I’m going to need you to pledge your life to mine.” He stood proudly, arms crossed. 

“Oh. Well, no thanks.” Jen waved as she started to walk away. 

Diavolo’s jaw dropped. “You dare turn down the patronage of the Demon Prince?!”

She hummed at him. “You want my loyalty? Earn it. Until then, no pledge. I promise not to work against your interests as long as I reside in hell. Does that work?” She cocked her head to the side. 

He laughed, long and loud. He hasn’t been challenged in a long time, and he’s enjoying it. “Ok, Jen. I’ll accept that, with the following terms: you will form no demon pacts. At all. You will not touch with bare skin the Avatars of Sin.” She felt the power building around them, recognizing the feeling of magic. “You will tell no one of these conditions. The only beings who know are you, me, and my assistant, the demon Barbatos.” His eyes glowed with his power. 

She nodded. “I accept.”

“Then I accept your pledge as well.”

Jen felt a snap as the spell set. She looked up at Lord Diavolo, and he turned back into his jovial self. “I feel it’s only fair to tell you that angels will know the details of the agreement. It would probably be easiest if you begin wearing gloves, and pretend that you can’t touch anyone at all. The Avatars can be… pushy.” He beamed at her like he was proud of her. 

The next few days flew by in a flurry of activity, as she ended her current identity in the Human Realm and settled in the Devildom.

And it all started with a dance.

————

The song ended, and Diavolo bowed toward her as she curtsied. When she rose, he could see the hunt rise in her eyes. 

He gave her a smile and watched out of the corner of his eye as she cut through the crowd unerringly toward a non-descript human male. 

He smiled evilly, causing his current dance partner, a wife of a human diplomat, cringe in his arms. 

The conspiracy will die tonight.


	15. Barbatos

_After the interrogation session_

Jen flowed back into the ballroom, arm in arm with the demoness noble. Lady Maxillary enjoyed hearing herself talk, and hadn’t shut up since Jen had run into her outside of the storage room. She saw an opportunity to ditch the noble when she saw that the prime minister of some minor human country was standing idle. 

“Minister Allen! A pleasure to see you!,” she all but ambushed the man at the refreshment table. “May I introduce Lady Maxillary? She is the Court’s expert on early child development.” A giant fib. The only children the demon was interested in were the ones she could eat. “Lady Maxillary, please meet Prime Minister Daniel Allen, he runs one of the most influential committees in the UN in the Human Realm.” Another lie, unless cocaine and hookers all of the sudden became voting members of the UN.

The two of them fell into the easy non-conversations that all statesmen develop over time, and Jen found herself free to check on her team. Drifting through the ballroom, she made contact with the servers, chefs, footman, and human secretaries. All indicated that they were fine, and had nothing major to report. 

Free to let her mind wander, she let her eyes drift over the crowd, noticing that some of the Brothers had returned to the ballroom, along with Lord Diavolo. 

Out of habit, she looked for Barbatos. He hadn’t arrived back to the ballroom, and she felt herself feeling adrift at his absence. Her best friend was her anchor at these events. 

Finally, she saw him across the room, sliding in beside the Prince, leaning slightly to speak into his ear. The Prince smiled at what Barb said, and excused himself from his current guest. Barb turned to follow, but not before locking eyes with Jen and giving her a slight smile. 

She relaxed, but was still feeling off, like something wasn’t finished. She just couldn’t put her finger on it. 

——————-

_118 years ago_

Jen was in trouble. 

She was currently on the third level of hell, hiding in a mechanic’s shop behind some sort of truck, hoping that the gremlins she’d managed to piss off would find some other being to fuck with. 

She couldn’t even figure out what she did wrong. At the Prince’s urging, she had been exploring the levels of hell, becoming more accustomed to her new home. She happened upon a gaggle of gremlins, and tried the controversial approach of saying “hello”.

Apparently, saying hello in hell _actually_ meant “Fuck your mother.”

Next thing she knew, she was getting the shit kicked out of her as she ran for cover. She was covered in bruises and fucking bite marks. BITE MARKS. She managed to duck into a closed mechanic’s shops and lose them, but she could hear them chattering just outside the door. 

She shifted her body, and tried to creep around the truck, hoping the space between the wall and the truck was a little more secure. She had her D.D.D., but she didn’t want to call for a ride home, just because she got into a little fight. 

She was keeping her attention on the front of the building and not looking behind her, when she bumped into something large, and it grunted at her. 

She swallowed a scream, trying to stay quiet. She turned and saw a giant of a red demon with pointed ears, also crouched down, also clearly trying to stay quiet. He looked at her with a combination of curiosity, exasperation, disgust, and amusement. 

“Might as well make yourself comfortable, human. The gremlins won’t calm down for hours yet,” he whispered. 

“Why are you hiding from them? I’m the one who pissed them off,” she whispered back.

He looked sheepish, which is quite the look on a giant red demon. “I was trying to steal their truck.” He gestured to the truck they were hiding behind. “I thought they were in a different layer today, until I heard them go after you. So thanks for that warning!” He grinned at her. 

“I’m Jen.”

“Reggath. What do you say we bust our way out of here?”

Barbatos was supervising the preparation of the evening meal. Lord Diavolo was in the Human Realm with Lord Lucifer, and didn’t need Barb’s presence at these meetings. He was looking forward to a quiet evening, when a footman arrived to inform him that Lady Jen had returned to her rooms in quite the state. 

He lifted an eyebrow at the doorman to continue. Apparently, she had been driven up to the castle grounds in a loud, derelict pickup truck blaring obnoxious music, with quite a few mushed gremlins in its grill. And she herself was in no better state. 

Barbatos closed his eyes briefly, watching his quiet evening dissolve away. He thanked the footman, and made sure to assign staff to clean up the tracks the human left on the way to her rooms. 

He stopped by his office to grab a first aid kit, and made his way to her rooms. _This is not going to be the only time this happens,_ he thought, making a mental note to place a kit in her suite and to refill it often. 

He knocked on her door, and heard a listless “come in” from the other side. He sighed. He’d asked Beelzebub to swing by sometime soon and refresh her on safety protocols. 

He opened the door and walked into the suite. He closed and locked the door behind him, then turned to look for her. 

Good lord, she took his breath away. 

Jen was laying in the window seat on her back, but her legs were raised almost vertically, resting on the wall. She had worn shorts today, and all Barb could see were those fabulous legs. 

They were covered in bruises and bite marks. 

Gasping, he hurried to Jen, dropping to his knees beside her. “What bit you?!”

She turned her head to him, and gave him a wan smile. “It turns out that gremlins don’t like you touching their shit.” 

Oh shit, gremlin saliva. 

“Jen,” Barbatos said carefully. “I need to treat every one of those bites with antivenom cream. We can’t let the poison spread.” She may be immortal, but she wasn’t invulnerable. This much venom could knock her out for a hundred years or more. 

“Kk,” she sang. Luckily, the antivenom will activate right away, drawing the poison out of her body and she would become more aware as he worked. 

Since her legs were bare and available, so to speak, he decided to start there. Standing up, he focused on her ankles, since her shoes protected her feet. He spread the cream, making sure to rub it in thoroughly, before moving down to her shins and her calves. 

She had quite a few bites on both legs, and it took him quite a while to get to all of them. _She really has lovely legs,_ he thought. Next were her thighs. 

He found himself having problems keeping his breathing steady, as he worked his way to the tops of her thighs. He was determined to keep this professional. He was a servant, she wasn’t even destined to be his. Another would be coming in 120 years.

He risked a look at her face. 

_Then again, 120 years is a long time._

Her eyes were locked onto his face, her pupils blown, her breathing shallow. He maintained eye contact as he reached the bite just under the hem of her shorts. He massaged the cream into the bite, firmly this time. Her breath was getting faster. 

He slid his hand into the leg of her shorts, to just under her butt cheek, massaging the thigh there. 

He bent over her, and captured her mouth in a scorching kiss. She kissed him back with fervor that surprised them both. 

Still kissing her, he slid his hand around to the front of her body, and pressed on her core through her panties. 

She moaned into the kiss, lifting and wrapping her arms around his neck. Opening his eyes slightly at the contact, he noticed there were a few bites on her arms that needed attending to. Deciding on a course of action, he broke the kiss and he removed his hand (she groaned as the loss of contact), and picked her up, taking her into her bedroom.

He wanted to take his time. He needed to be sure he treated _all_ of the bites, after all.

Afterward, they laid entwined in bed, Jen holding him close, Barb cuddling tight. But the moment had to end. 

“Barb-“ 

“Shhhh,” said the demon. “There will be no apologies, no promises. This is a for now thing, and that is ok.” He tented his hands over her chest. “So. Tell me about the guy in the pickup truck.”

She ran her hands through his hair, and smiled. 

“Well, his name is Reggath…”

——————-

_Back at the ball_

Jen felt unsettled. There was something that she couldn’t figure out. She glanced again over the guests, her eyes landing on Michael. His brow was furrowed, and he also kept looking out over the crowd. 

Deciding quickly that she wanted no part of what Michael was doing, she slipped quickly into the service corridor. She skillfully dodged the service teams, moving quickly to the hidden servants’ door that led to antechamber just off the ballroom. She slid through quickly, and closed the door behind her. 

She crossed the room to the window, and pushed it open. She sat on the sill and started gathering her skirts, preparing to escape out the window. She’s spent enough time at this stupid ball.

A polite cough, followed by the low laughter of several males sounded behind her. She sighed, straightened up, and slowly turned to confront the men who ruined her brilliant escape plan.

Barbatos, Mammon, Lucifer, and Lord Diavolo all stood in the room, laughing at her. 

Still sitting on the window sill, she crossed her arms and glared at them all.

That brought a fresh round of laughter from the Demon Prince. “Jen, if you knew how many times I escaped out of that exact window during a ball, you would have never picked this room to try it from.” He turned to leave the room, motioning for Lucifer to follow him. “Barb, please make sure our newest Council member returns to the ball. We have several guests that need to meet with her.” Still chuckling, both Diavolo and Lucifer left the room.

Both Barbatos and Mammon approached her at the window, Barb reaching to help her off of the sill. Once she was settled with both feet on the floor, she smiled and thanked him.

She turned to look at Mammon to give him a hard time about stopping her. “Why? After I helped you escape so many times!” She thought she saw a new expression on Mammon’s face. 

Hunger.

But it was gone in an instant, and she convinced herself that it must have been a trick of the light.

“If THE Great Mammon has to stay at this shit, you do, too.” He blustered. He turned on his heel and left.

She exchanged a look with Barbatos, loaded with humor. “I’m guessing you need to actually walk with me? Make sure I really head back to the ball?”

He grinned. “Absolutely. Just let me close this window.” He leaned out to grab the window, and something on the ground caught his attention. He paled when he saw it, and called Jen to look at it.

She took one look and swore, loudly. She pulled her D.D.D. out of her dress pocket and soon her fingers were flying as she summoned Beelzebub.

Beel arrived, and looked where Barbatos pointed. He nodded, and flew out of the window to check on the Palace Guard. 

Jen continued to work on her phone, calling her team in. Reggath was going to lead a team in the tunnels, doing a full sweep. “Barb,” she called, eyes not leaving her device. “Can you get a couple of guards you trust in here? Diavolo is correct, I need to be seen tonight.”

Especially when there was a message left for her under that window. Someone was watching her close enough to know her location, even when she was discreet. 

It wasn’t the words so much as the medium they were written in. Blood. It didn’t matter what kind of blood, any message written in blood should be taken seriously.

On the ground, below the window, written in blood in capital block letters:

**JEN**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man. I wanted this to be a smutty chapter so bad. It turns out I don't even blink when dealing with torture, but I turn into a blushy shy mess when trying to write smut. Hopefully I can get over that by the end of the story.


	16. Luke

_In the ballroom_

Luke was bored. Like super duper bored. Like super dee duper _looper_ bored. 

This whole room was full of nothing but grownups, super evil demons, and humans who Michael would never allow in the Celestial Realm. There was dancing, but it was that stupid kind where you only got to dance with one person at a time. There was food, and that was kind of cool, but Simeon said that he couldn’t hang around the food all night. And the only cool angels there were Michael, Raphael, and Simeon.

The other angels that came were _boring._

When he complained to Simeon about that, Simeon smiled at him and said it was because those angels had never been exposed to earth OR hell. They only knew of heaven. And that’s why Michael chose them to attend today, to expose them to earth and hell in one swoop. So they could see something more than perfection. 

“Life is full of nuance,” Simeon had told him.

Luke was going to assume he was right, because he didn’t even know what nuance meant.

He stuck close to Simeon, there were too many demons around and he was just too young to properly defend himself. He wished he didn’t have to be here. The Celestial Realm was way more fun with all of the new angels now. He even had a new best friend! 

Simeon liked that he played with the new angels. The old angels didn’t seem to like them very much, and were super duper hard on them. He thought they were great! They were all kids like him! Some of them were very little babies, one was almost a grownup, and all sizes in between. He had been the only kid for ages and ages and ages, and BAM! New friends!

He wandered around with Simeon, trying to pay attention like a good apprentice. The Evil Sinful Brothers all said hi to Simeon, and teased Luke. Beel smooshed his hat down onto his head, and Mammon called him “Squirt” and Lucifer called him a chihuahua AGAIN. He had to hear that every day when he came to school here, and he really really didn’t like it. Maybe.

(Honestly it made him feel kinda cool. Lucifer didn’t tease anybody)

Luke’s eyes were straying away from Simeon and the human he was chatting with. He was trying so hard to be good. Simeon was a great mentor, and he really liked being his apprentice. They got to travel and see all three realms, and they even went to school together here in the Devildom for a while! 

A light touch on his shoulder brought his attention up to Simeon’s face. Simeon smiled kindly at Luke. “Bored, little one?” 

Luke made his eyes really big, to show he was awake. “Nope! I’m paying attention to everything! I don’t want to let Michael down!”

“Fibber.” Simeon’s smile grew larger. “These things are designed to inflict boredom, I swear.” He pointed with his chin across the room. “Look at Raphael.” 

Curious, Luke gazed to where Simeon pointed. Raphael was currently standing just behind Michael and was yawning. Luke giggled. Raphael was so funny. 

Still smiling, Simeon led the way to a section of tables. He found an empty one, and told Luke to have a seat. “Aren’t you going to miss talking to important people?” Luke asked as Simeon settled himself at the table.

“Nope! We meet boring people on our feet. Now our friends will sit and join us, eventually.”

Luke liked that. He tried very hard not to swing his feet. Seren always teased him when he couldn’t hold still. He started humming a tune that had been in his head for days now. 

“What are you singing, Luke?” Simeon asked. 

Luke blushed. “It’s a jump rope song I sing sometimes. Want to hear it?”

Simeon nodded. “I really do.”

Luke blushed harder, and started to chant, swinging his legs to keep the time.

> **  
> God sent one,  
>  Hell sent Seven,  
> One was part,  
> Of-a-piece from Heaven!**
> 
> **Sep’rate then,  
>  Now made whole,  
> All it took,  
> Was a piece of soul!**
> 
> **Bonds will break,  
>  Some will form,  
> All will sing  
> Love is born!**
> 
> **Angels born  
>  From a New Maker  
> Sins are grabbed  
> Before they Break Her**
> 
> **Happiness gained  
>  Losses mourned  
> Hell Arises  
> Heaven is Scorned**
> 
> **Angels Risen  
>  Devils New Path  
> All Will Hail  
> Brand New Seraph!  
> **

Luke kept humming to himself, playing jump rope in his mind to keep time. He didn’t notice that Barbatos had arrived with a plate of pastries, or that Solomon had joined them. He didn’t see that Lucifer was nearby, and staring at him.

“Luke,” Simeon interrupted, gently. Luke stopped humming and looked cheerfully at Simeon. “Where did you hear that poem?” Lucifer quietly slid into a chair next to Simeon, his expression unreadable.

Luke replied, cheerfully. “I don’t actually know. It’s always been in my head, so…” he shrugged. “Seren taught me how to chant it so I can jump with it.”

“Who’s Seren?” Lucifer asked, brow furrowed. “I thought I knew everyone up there.” He looked questionably at Simeon. Simeon shook his head slightly, indicating that they’d talk later.

But Luke, being Luke, and being the baby angel he was and not understanding anything like discretion, answered. “Seren is my very very best friend. They’re younger than me, but also older than me. They just got picked to be Uriel’s Apprentice!! It’s a really big deal!” He frowned a little, clenching his fists. “A bunch of the other angels don’t like them, or the other new angels.”

Unaware of the giant bomb he just launched into the middle of the table, Luke asked Barbatos if he could go hang out in the little library, because he was bored. 

“Of course, young sir.” Barb signaled for a servant to come escort the young angel. Luke bounced up cheerfully and followed the servant.

Once Luke was out of earshot, Lucifer turned to Simeon. “What the hell was tha-”

Simeon interrupted. “There are more stanzas to the prophecy than you realized.” He was amazed that they all had missed something so important. Aware that there were always people watching, he forced a calm look upon his face. Seeing his friend compose himself so visibly made Lucifer realize that, in this case, the angels weren’t really hiding anything. 

Solomon leaned his chin on his hand, keeping his voice low. “I’ve heard parts of this before, but not altogether. I thought they were all separate.” He looked seriously at the other men at the table. “They used to call part of this the Sin Eater Prophecy.”

Lucifer shook his head. “We’ve only known the first part for a couple of centuries. That’s why RAD was started, we all assumed it was related to Lilith.” He was clearly shaken. 

_How could we have made such a monumental error?_ Lucifer thought. Satan had told him privately that he felt looking for a piece of Lillith was a waste of time. Jen had argued, loudly and in public, that they were going about it in the wrong way. 

How could they have known they only heard the beginning of the prophecy? The Brothers weren’t the subject of the prophecy at all. They were a catalyst. 

\-------------

Luke was sitting in the window seat in the little library, reading a history of the Human Realm. A yawn broke his face almost in half, and he rubbed his eyes and gave a full body stretch. He glanced out the window, and had to do a double-take. 

Why was Michael talking to the big red demon? He couldn’t stand talking to the lower caste demons. He cocked his head, trying to figure out what was happening. He saw Michael hand something to the demon, and the demon patted Michael on the shoulder.

_A lower demon touched Michael! Oh I bet Michael’s going to smite him for sure!_

He watched, flabbergasted, as Michael reached up and touched the demon’s face. The two drew closer and -

_OH MY GOODNESS MICHAEL WAS KISSING THAT DEMON!!!!!!_

Luke started to panic, but knew he couldn’t leave all by himself. He paced back and forth, getting more and more wound up. A servant, sent by Barbatos with some yummy pastries for the little angel, saw the state he was in. The servant placed the tray down and quickly sent a code out on his D.D.D. 

A moment later, the door to the library opened, and a familiar human woman walked in. “Luke?” she called softly.

Luke spun to face the door, and ran at Jen, throwing his arms around her waist in a desperate hug. He has always loved Jen, she was such a good listener, and she took care of him, and made him feel important, and she made sure he was safe.

If he had ever had a mother, he’d like to imagine they’d be like Jen.

“Whoa, there, little one!” She exclaimed. She folded her arms around him in a comforting hug. “What’s wrong, sweetness?” She had never seen Luke this fired up before.

He was all but sobbing into her dress. She shifted their hug so that she still had her arms around him and moved with him to a big armchair nearby. She sat and hauled him into her lap, and held him tight into her hug. She rocked him slowly, murmuring assurances that he was safe, letting him settle himself enough that he could start talking.

He snuggled into her, feeling the comfort that she offered. He took some gulping breaths and tried to talk, but it was too soon, he couldn’t get the words out. “Shhhh, small one,” she murmured. “Take your time.” He nodded, and tried to settle his breathing. Deep breaths. Slow breaths. Deep breaths. Slow breaths.

Jen smiled down at a sleeping Luke. She missed this part most about her former life. She had loved being a mother. Moments like this were priceless. She let herself enjoy the moment, putting off everything that she needed to deal with for the moment. 

A soft sound by the wall drew her attention, and she looked up to see Beelzebub work himself into the room via the secret passage. She raised her finger to her lips to signal him to stay quiet, and he smiled softly and nodded.

He crossed the room with soft footsteps, Jen once again marveling at how big a man could move so quietly. When he got to Jen’s side, he reached out and stroked Luke’s hair softly. He had a gentle, thoughtful expression on his face. “I loved helping with the babies,” he spoke softly. His eyes sharpened a bit.

“You’re touching him.”

The words were flat, matter-of-fact. Jen took a moment, and replied. “Yes, I suppose I am.” She continued to snuggle Luke, trying to keep him asleep through this exchange. 

Beel stared at her, capturing her gaze. “I told you that I would eliminate you if you were a threat,” the softness of his voice by no means lessening the severity of his words. “Are you endangering this child?”

She shook her head softly. “Never.” 

He knelt down next to her, never looking away. “I am coming to your suite tonight, and you will answer my questions about this.” He held her gaze until she nodded. He nodded slowly in return, and turned his attention to Luke.

“Did you find out what is going on with him? I came as soon as I could break free.” He started speaking a bit louder, so Luke would hear him and start to wake.

She followed his lead. “I don’t know, he was so upset when I came in, he could barely talk. I tried to calm him down, and he fell asleep.” She started stroking Luke’s back in an effort to wake him up gently. “Luke? Luke, love, wake up now.”

Luke started shifting in her arms, eyes slowly opening. He stretched, becoming more and more awake. Jen was nice. She reminded him of someone, but he could never place it. 

As he became fully awake, he became aware of a face near his own, and he jumped nearly out of his skin! He launched to his feet to watch Beelzebub stand at his full height. “AURGG a demon!!” he shouted. 

As Beel hid his grin with his hand, Jen shot him an amused look. She also stood. “Luke, sweetheart, you’re in the heart of the Devildom. What did you think you’d find here?” She placed her hands on her hips in a mocking manner.

Luke felt sheepish. He hadn’t thought of that! Jen smiled kindly at him.

“Now, can you please tell us what had you in such a state when I came in?” She gestured to Beel. “We can’t fix it if we don’t know!”

Jen’s smile was great. She had a dimple in her right cheek, just like his best friend Seren!

His face fell, as he remembered what happened. “I don’t want to get in trouble.”

She nodded. “You won’t. This is the Devildom, weird stuff happens here. You can’t surprise us.”

“I saw Michael kissing a demon.”

Jen and Beel’s jaws dropped simultaneously. 

_Guess I surprised them,_ thought Luke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go!


	17. Simeon

_At the table in the ballroom_

Barbatos couldn’t stay, he left the table shortly after Luke did. Asmodeus had stopped and asked Solomon for his assistance in creating a magical barrier in a guest room. This left the two old friends alone at the table. 

Simeon studied his former best friend. Lucifer had always been beautiful. Simeon was pleased that the quiet desperation that had hovered around his eyes since his Fall was slowly disappearing. 

It looked like his friend might be choosing to live his life for himself, instead of for Diavolo. Although he would never stop living for his brothers. Simeon was happy for him. 

But right now, Luci was eyeing a waiter carrying a full bottle of Demonus, and Lord knows he can’t let Luci get drunk at such an important event. 

“Luci,” Simeon starts, “where did you all disappear to earlier?” He knew exactly what they were doing, but he did so love to watch Lucifer try to keep from corrupting an angel. It’s the weirdest holdover from Heaven he’s got. He still feels responsible for the nature of angels. 

“Nothing you need worry about, Simeon.” Lucifer looked at him haughtily. “How about we split that bottle of Demonus?”

Simeon snorted. “How about not, Luci? I heard how you had to be carried out of Jen’s rooms the day before yesterday.”

Lucifer glared at him.

“How’s the new lamp?” Simeon continued teasing him. “Did you bother buying Jen a new one, or are you just going to let that poor human sit in the dark?” His tone turned sly. “Or do you want to sit with her in the dark?” Lucifer’s eyes snapped sparks in irritation. Simeon decided to cut back on his teasing while he was ahead. 

Lucifer regained his composure, and re-settled his wings along his back. “What did Luke mean, about new angels? He was the last angel created, and that was a thousand years ago.”

Simeon nodded slowly. “Well, we had an interesting event take place a while back, and the upshot is, we got twenty-three new angels, all juveniles, all at one time.” He wanted to slouch and rub his face, but he was aware they were still in full sight of a crowded ballroom. 

Lucifer, also aware of the crowd, only raised his eyebrows. “Well, that’s fascinating. Father must have had a fit of creativity.”

Simeon shook his head. “No. After you all chose to Fall,” he frowned at Lucifer trying to interrupt him. “ _You chose,_ Luci. You weren’t forced. You weren’t thrown out. You could have repented and come back, all of you, but you chose to leave. All of you.” He continued, “After you left, Father declared there would be no more angels created. Luke happened because the Son asked him for a Messenger. Minor angels started dying, Luci. They’d go out on assignments in the Human Realm, say as a guardian angel, take the fatal hit for their charge, and never reform. They stayed dead.”

“And so Michael called us all back in,” continued a deep voice. The two men looked up. Raphael stood next to their table. “May I join you?” At Lucifer’s nod, Raphael pulled out a chair and sat down. He exchanged a look with Simeon. “Did Luke sing it again?”

Simeon nodded, and Raphael sighed, and took up the story. “You know my focus is on healing. I was in the Human Realm even more than Lilith and Belphegor. To be recalled, away from my True Calling, well..” he closed his eyes. “It was pure torture.”

“We were dying, Luci,” Simeon continued. “And nothing we could say to Father would help. Even the Son tried, but no.” 

Lucifer looked at his old angel friends. “But where did the new angels come from then?”

Raphael leaned his head in his hand. “Did you hear all of Luke’s song? Or just the part about you, you prideful fool?”

Lucifer racked his memory. “An Angel Maker?” 

Simeon nodded. “And among the new angels is a Seraph. Seren will be very powerful, and will become an archangel when they come into their full power. We were having a problem finding someone to train and raise the new angels. They range from infant to late adolescence.” He let out a full-bodied sigh. He couldn’t take on any himself, he already had Luke, and was one of the few angels who were allowed to travel between realms. 

Raphael continued the story. “Uriel has decided to take Seren on as an Apprentice, which is a huge weight lifted off our shoulders. Michael brought these two choirs here tonight to show them what could happen if they don’t take an interest in raising their new brothers and sisters.” He grinned. “He’s convinced that everything here is corrupt.”

Lucifer shrugged. “It is. It is Hell.” He leaned back in his chair a bit. “Why doesn’t anyone want anything to do with the new angels? I remember everyone going nuts for the new babies.”

Raphael and Simeon exchanged a secret smile. They remember _Lucifer_ going nuts for the new babies, and that’s how he fell with six siblings and embraced Satan’s arrival so easily. When the twins were born, it wasn’t uncommon to find Lucifer curled in a corner, Belphegor asleep on his lap, Beelzebub cuddled in his arms. 

“Well, the problem is,” started Simeon. He couldn’t seem to find the words, and looked helplessly at Raphael for help. 

Raphael took pity on him. “They’re human born.”

——————-

_120 years ago_

Jen was a sobbing, grieving mess. The attack stole her family, her sense of safety, and sometimes even her ability to breathe. Her husband of twenty years, her sweet sixteen year old child. Gone. Because few people wanted to destroy her church. 

And then it turned out that they had the wrong place. 

It had been awhile since she was actually able to sleep for any length of time, so when she first saw the lights in her backyard, she thought she was hallucinating. 

When she realized they weren’t going to go away, she went outside to investigate. And if it turned out they weren’t real, she would just have more stuff to talk about with her therapist. If she ever got around to getting one. 

When she approached the edge of the back porch, she saw there were four lights. The one closest to her was the brightest, and when she had gotten close enough, it shimmered into the shape of an angel with six wings. 

“DO NOT BE AFRAID” it announced. 

She shrugged. “I’m not.”

Was that snickering she heard from the other lights?

The three other lights also transformed into angels, although one of them didn’t show his wings. She looked calmly at all of them. 

Simeon, even from his position in the back of the formation, could see she had been crying. By the looks of her face, it was quite likely that she had been crying since the attack two days ago. He hated that they were about to add to her grief. 

The angel in front looked at the angel in the back. “Why are you here? Where is Gabriel?”

Simeon knew better than to antagonize Michael in this moment. Gabriel had refused to come, citing his incarceration for the reason. Simeon knew better. 

“He apologizes,” Simeon began, “but if he left the Celestial Realm, it would violate several treaties.” Michael’s brow creased a little at that, but turned back to the human. 

The lead angel frowned at her. “Do you have no regard for your own safety?”

She stared blankly at him. “I’m sorry. I have had a shit couple of days. Is the protocol I shiver and cower? Because honestly, I just don’t have it in me to play today.” 

Raphael grinned, tossing a look to Uriel. Uriel rolled his eyes and shook his head. 

Michael made himself appear larger to her, trying to cow her into submission. But this woman had just been through hell, and it was going to take more than a cranky angel to scare her. 

“What do you want?” She was just so fucking tired. 

Michael decided to carry out his Father’s order without further ado. 

“Jen, the Lord our God holds you in contempt of His creation, and finds you guilty in ignoring His laws.”

She looked baffled. “What the fuck?! I DID obey His laws, I followed the teachings of His Son! I did what I have been told to do my entire life!”

Uriel shifted on his feet. He was the most confused of the three archangels, also not understanding why she was being punished. Raphael also looked uncomfortable, the human in front of him was clearly unwell. He wanted to cure her. 

“You are NOT the Son,” Michael said, firmly. “You do not get to meddle where even He did not.” He waved the other two archangels over. Simeon was there as Witness, and would not participate. 

“Your punishment has been decided by God. You will live for eternity. You will never grow old. You will watch all you love shrivel and die, while you remain. Alone. You will never be allowed into the Celestial Realm. You will never join your loved ones in their eternal paradise. To enter Heaven would be an act of war, and God will smite the earth.”

Jen stood, listening to the judgement. Simeon could See the moment her Faith shattered. She had been one of God’s most faithful people, doing her best to live her faith. His heart broke for her, knowing that her last pillar standing was kicked away from her. 

That was really her true punishment. 

Abandonment. 

Michael approached her first, gesturing over her head. He granted her immortality. Raphael came next, and laid his hands on her non resisting head. He healed her, far deeper than he was asked to do. He reached into her heart and healed her grief, her aches, her exhaustion. He healed her so well that she de-aged rapidly in front of their eyes. He murmured a small blessing, and stepped back. 

It was Uriel’s turn. Uriel was supposed to place the charm on her to keep her in the Human Realm, but he altered the request. He only blocked her from the Celestial Realm. He looked at Michael from the corner of his eye, and true to his nature, he wasn’t paying attention since his part was complete. Uriel leaned down and whispered into her ear. 

She nodded so slightly that he almost missed it. He stepped back, signaling to Michael that his turn was done. Michael raised his hand, “Your punishment has now been handed down. As you are now immortal, we’ll most likely cross paths again in the future.” He sniffed. “Let’s hope it’s not too soon.” He disappeared in a flash of light. 

Uriel and Raphael nodded their farewells, and they, too, left. 

She sat down abruptly in a lawn chair, her clothes hanging off her smaller frame. She didn’t see Simeon until he knelt down in front of her. She raised her eyes, and Simeon swore he had never seen defiance mixed with defeat like that since Lucifer Fell. 

“What are you going to do to me, angel?” She asked. 

“Nothing. I was simply here as a Witness.” He reaches for her hand. “Never doubt that you did the right thing. You DID. You did a selfless, thankless thing, and you should never regret it.” He smiled as her eyes grew larger in the starlight. “Angels have free will, too, you know. Some of us just forget that.”

She tilted her head. “What’s your name, angel?”

“Simeon. I know we’re going to be great friends, Jen.”

—————-

Lucifer’s jaw dropped, “Human Born?!” He looked between the two angels, baffled. “How is that possible? Their souls would never be pure enough to transform!”

“That’s… really not our story to tell, my friend.” Simeon shook his head. 

Lucifer looked as if he was going to argue, when Mammon zipped up to him from out of nowhere. “Bro, we need you to protect Diavolo. Somethin’s up, and we don’t know where the threat is aimed yet.”

Lucifer launched himself in the air and flew toward Diavolo. He placed himself in front of the Prince while Barbatos shifted to protect his back. 

Mammon looked at the two angels, looking every inch of the warrior he was. “It might be time for you two to pick a side soon.” And he flashed away. 

Raphael and Simeon exchanged quiet looks. 

“I think it is time we find Luke,” said Simeon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just love Jen so much.


	18. Solomon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CW: Business-like sex

_At the ball_

To say Solomon was shocked was an understatement. 

He had heard the Sin Eater prophecy several times before, along with the Seven-Made-Eight. How did he not have a clue that two were related. Judging by the look on Lucifer’s face, he was just as shocked. 

Solomon was snapped out of it by Asmodeus sweeping him away from the table. 

“Solomon! You naughty king! I need you to come away with me right now!” Asmo sang as he swept by the table. He didn’t wait for an answer, merely grabbed Solomon’s upper arm and dragged him away into the crowd. 

Solomon was used to Asmo’s ways after so many centuries. He was vaguely aware that most thought they were lovers, but that hadn’t been true since the first year of their pact. Solomon craved variety (hence the 700 wives and 300 concubines), and Asmodeus, in spite of his sin, craved stability. In order to make their partnership work, they cut out sex. 

His partnership with Asmodeus was his longest lasting relationship. 

If he interpreted the prophecy correctly (he snorted. Why start now?), their bond would break, and probably soon. He would lose all of his pacts. He blew out a breath as Asmo continued to tug him out of the ballroom. That was going to hurt when it happened. 

He finally snapped out of his daze when Asmo stopped in front of a bed chamber. The unmistakable sounds of sex sliding out from behind the closed door. He looked at Asmo in curiosity. He didn’t usually need an escort to these things. He stepped back a step when he saw Asmo’s eyes. 

Asmodeus was the Avatar of Lust, this was true. And people tended to only to think of sex when they thought of his sin. They forgot things like wanderlust. Or bloodlust. 

Asmo was pure bloodlust now. The violence under his skin was almost visible. His claws were out, and his wingtips had sharpened like knife blades. His fangs had elongated, and his pupils constricted to pin points. 

“Why are we here, Asmo?” Solomon asked. 

Eyes never leaving the door, Asmo said, “Mephisto is the demon behind that door. He has been trying to stage a coup for centuries. We are to keep him in here for Diavolo to take care of personally.” He took a deep breath. “I need to get my team out of there, but I’m too deep to hold back from destroying Mephisto myself. I need you to command me to stop.”

Solomon nodded. He never abused his pact relationships, which is why Asmo is trusting him to do this now. “Let me go in first. I’ll give the command once I’m in the room. Then once your team is out, I’ll start setting the wards in place.” Asmo nodded, to show that he understood. 

Solomon pushed the door open and stepped inside. **"Asmodeus, do not attack Mephisto.”** After giving the command, Solomon looked at the bed and almost laughed. The demon they were here to secure had been almost drained dry by an incubus-succubus tagteam, and he didn’t even realize it. 

Mephisto was face down in the lap of the succubus, while he was being railed from behind by an incubus. The two were glowing from all of the power they were taking from him. The succubus raised her eyes to Solomon and winked at him. 

Asmo chuckled, coming out of his bloodlust state. There was no challenge to be had here. “Darlings!” He called. “You were only with him for fifteen minutes! How is he drained so much?”

The incubus didn’t miss a stroke as he spoke conversationally with the Avatar. “He was already feeling pretty lusty tonight, it only took a minute to get him back here. Some human married couple had turned him down. He wanted this pretty badly.” He kept going, pulling more power from the traitorous demon. 

Asmo clapped his hands twice. “Well darlings, finish up, we need to put him to bed.”

Succubus hissed and grabbed Mephisto’s hair, grinding his face into her, and coming with a shudder. At the same time the incubus rammed him from behind harder, one, two, three times and released with a shout. They both pulled away, their actions more business like than loverly. Mephisto lay sprawled on his stomach, only semi-conscience. 

The two demons tossed their clothes back on with practiced ease. The incubus nodded at both of the men at the door and left. The succubus paused by Solomon. “I’m glutted on power. I won’t feed from you if you’d like to get together tonight.” She looked him up and down suggestively. 

“What’s your name?” He asked. 

“Does it matter?”

“Not really,” he grinned. “I’ll find you.”

She gave him a sultry look as she left the room. Asmo laughed at him and patted his shoulder. “Ok, you machine. Let’s place the bindings on this demon.”

Solomon moved to the bed, and started performing the spells that would keep him confined. Someone walked in without knocking before he could finish the first binding. 

Lord Diavolo entered the room, followed closely by Barbatos. “I decided that I couldn’t wait,” he informed Asmodeus. He glared disgustedly at the drained demon on the bed. “He got drained in only 15 minutes? And he thought he could take MY crown? Pathetic.”

Asmo coughed delicately. “In his defense, it was a tag team of two of my best.” He wanted to give credit where credit was due. They worked hard, after all. 

Diavolo grinned. “Who?”

“Lilray and Axel.”

A booming laugh rolled out. “Yes, I can see it now.” His grin turned lascivious. “They work well as a team.”

Solomon was too old to be surprised by anything to do with sex anymore, but hearing Lord Diavolo talk about it was like seeing your teachers in a grocery store. Just fucking weird.

Diavolo turned back to the demon drained in the bed. He sighed. “I always think it’s going to be fun, but then it turns out to not be worth my time at all.” He reached down and lifted Mephisto up by the hair. Mephisto was so drained that he didn’t even blink. 

The Prince sighed again. “Asmodeus, the lands and properties in hell that belong to Mephisto are now yours to distribute as you please.” He knew Asmo wouldn’t keep them for himself. He’d use the properties in his dealings with Court intrigue. Like Jen used Human Realm goods to deal with the layers. 

Barbatos cleared his throat. “And the human realm properties, My Lord?”

Diavolo thought for a moment. “Solomon, I grant you his real estate, his liquid assets go to Jen.” Jen wouldn’t take the real estate, she had an extensive compound in the forest on the Pacific Coast of North America, and that was enough for her. 

Solomon bowed. It was a mark of great favor. 

With a quick twist of his wrist, Diavolo shredded Mephisto’s neck from his shoulders, and dissolved him with a thought.

It was all very anticlimactic. The Prince was almost pouting. “We need to get back, My Lord,” Barbatos reminded him. 

“Of course.” With a spin, both he and the butler were gone. 

Asmo was back to his sunny self, and raring to return to the party as well. “Let’s go back, and I’ll break the lovely Lilray away for you.” He laughed at Solomon’s hungry face. “I swear I can live off of your lust alone, my friend.” He linked arms with Solomon and they returned to the ballroom.

\----------------------

_Start of the RAD program_

Jen was walking to her classroom, thinking over her lecture schedule. She had flat out refused to be a student, knowing that it would undermine her position in court. Diavolo, after hearing her reasoning, agreed with her, and told her that she could be an instructor, along with being the human liaison for the exchange students. 

She was meeting one of them this morning. He wasn’t a Lilith candidate, he was a sorcerer, and one that even she had heard of. She barely considered him human at all, but if she was still considered human, she supposes that he ought to be also.

Entering her classroom, she was pleasantly surprised that he had beat her there. He stood as she entered, and swept into an elegant bow. “Lady Jen, I assume?” At her nod, he continued. “I am Solomon.” He straightened. “It is an absolute pleasure to meet you finally.”

She smiled and sat down across from him, gesturing for him to sit. As he did, she replied, “It is very nice to meet you, too. How did you get roped into attending RAD?”

He grinned, “My pacts. I figured it’s a good way to solidify my bonds, and maybe meet more like-minded demons to connect with.” He stretched his legs out, giving her a chance to admire his body. “Plus I needed to disappear from the Human Realm a bit. I have to set up another identity, and that’s always easier after I let the old one fade away.”

She leaned forward, intrigued. “Any chance you can help me set mine up? Right now, everything’s riding in a couple of corporate trusts, but I’d love to set up a perpetual legacy for a piece of property, so I don’t have to keep willing it to myself.” Jen kept up a home in the Human Realm, and visited it regularly. She needed to see the sky and trees, or she would start to feel disconnected from a part of herself.

He leaned forward as well, matching her posture. “Of course,” he breathed. “Should we get together tonight, over dinner? I usually eat with my dorm mates, but since you live alone, maybe I could come to your rooms?” His gaze locked with hers, and he let her see the desire in his eyes.

She sat back, amused. “Why do we need to be somewhere private for this?” Her eyes twinkling, she dared him to answer.  
“Oh, I could think of so many other conversations we could have,” he purred.

The door to the classroom slammed open, startling both humans. “ABSOLUTELY NOT, SOLOMON.” In the doorway stood a pissed off Asmodeus. 

Asmo marched over and planted himself between Jen and Solomon, hands on hips as he stared down the man. “Jen is NOT one of your fuck dolls!” Jen raised a hand to cover her grin. Solomon looked mortified.

Asmodeus was on a roll, though. “Jen is wonderful and nice and _listens_ and is worth more than a sorry fuck with you.” His chest puffed up, ready to continue to defend Jen’s honor.

“Asmo-”

He was really laying into Solomon now, accusing him of leaving bastard children littered throughout time. 

“Asmo-” Jen was trying to get through to him. He had left the door open, and they were drawing a crowd.

“AND ANOTHER THING-” Now Asmo was listing every one of Solomon’s wives in alphabetical order, and there was no stopping him now. 

Jen sighed and walked to the classroom door, just as Lucifer and Diavolo arrived. 

_Well this just turned into a shit show,_ Jen groaned to herself. 

Diavolo was listening to Asmo’s recitation with fascination. “MARVELOUS! Where does he get the stamina to keep up with all of them?”

Lucifer was glaring at her. “What?” she asked, defensively.

“Wonderful start to the school term, Jen. Trying to slum it and sleep with a student, are you?” 

Jen narrowed her eyes, “Listen, you arrogant son of a-“ she was interrupted before she could finish her sentence. 

“As amusing as this all is- and Solomon, seriously, how do you do it? There are classes to attend! It’s the first day of the term!” Diavolo spread his arms out, encouraging the crowd to move along. When the crowd was significantly dispersed, he looked at Lucifer and Jen like errant children. “I expect better of you two.” He walked into the crowded hallway and disappeared. 

That left Lucifer and Jen to settle down an angry Asmodeus and a very confused Solomon. Ignoring each other, approached the pair. “Asmo, sweetie, it’s ok. He wasn’t going to do anything,” Jen said. 

Asmo glared at Solomon, but answered Jen. “He was so full of lust I could feel it down our bond, Jen! He’s a seducer! I know!!”

Lucifer rolled his eyes. “Solomon, get to class.”

Solomon was now finding the humor in the situation, and couldn’t help himself. “Uh, this IS my class? Human Culture Studies?” 

Jen face palmed. 

Asmo was gearing up for another round of yelling, but Jen was done. “Asmo, sweetness?”

Distracted from what he was about to yell, Asmo replied, “Yes, my sizzle dizzle?” (Solomon and Lucifer both mouthed “sizzle dizzle?”)

“Honey, Solomon wasn’t going to do anything because I _can’t_ touch anyone, remember?” It was one of the reasons why Asmo adored her, actually. She wasn’t after his sin. 

“OH! That’s RIGHT, flower packet!” Asmo smiled brightly. He sent her air kisses, and left the room just as abruptly as he entered. 

“Wait, what?!” Solomon asked, incredulously. Looking between both Jen and Lucifer, he saw something they would both deny until the end of time. 

The exact same sadistic smile. 

————————

Solomon and Asmo returned to the ballroom, running into a returning Satan. He had “accidentally” destroyed his target at the library, and was reentering the ballroom. Asmo told him what happened with Mephisto, and Satan laughed quietly. 

“I hope Levi has more fun with his,” Satan commented. 

“You’d be wrong,” Levi announced, as he came up behind them. “They weren’t even in deep water yet. Bartles fought a little bit, but he had drained his clan so dry of their power, I just felt like I was mercy killing sick animals.” 

Solomon left the three Brothers to their own devices, and explored the ballroom. He found some very promising human contacts among the guests (and not so coincidentally, a few future bed partners) and he was getting ready to find that succubus, when he noticed a disturbance in the center of the ballroom.

He saw Lucifer fly to cover Diavolo, and Barbatos shifting to cover his back. Mammon was speeding through the ballroom, moving so fast he couldn’t see what he was looking for. Asmodeus was in full bloodlust, and covering the air above Diavolo. Satan was clearing the area around the Prince. He couldn’t see Leviathan, but he could smell the dark briny air that signaled an angry sea monster.

Beelzebub and Belphegor came running in and took up defensive positions around the perimeter. A low and loud howl brought Jen in on her hellhound. Raphael and Simeon gathered around Luke. 

Large flashes of light flared, as the choirs of angels grabbed humans and flashed them back to the Human Realm. The angels did not return. Demons stampeded out of the ballroom. 

He readied his magic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will die on the hill that Solomon is a giant hornball


	19. Chibis, Unicorns, and Stickers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CW: Children die, but it's not graphic. There's other violence, too.

_End of the ball_

After Luke finished telling Beelzebub and Jen about the demon he saw kissing Michael, the team flew into action. Jen ran Luke to Simeon and Raphael with a hurried explanation, and grabbed Satan as she saw him in the ballroom. She had him analyze the blood under the window.

He knelt down, saying a quick incantation. The letters lit up like a rainbow. He inhaled sharply and looked up at Jen. “It’s unicorn.” He looked as baffled as she did. “And fresh.” Unicorns did not thrive in hell at all. They were a creature of light, living exclusively in the Celestial Realm. They looked at each other with sinking hearts. 

There was almost certainly a rogue angel.

While Jen was dealing with Luke and working with Satan, Beel grabbed his twin and they went hunting in the catacombs, the last known whereabouts of the large red demon. What they found would turn the stomach of even the most hardened demon. 

Countless bodies of lower demons, limbs and heads everywhere. None of them past the point of regeneration, but these were lower demons. They wouldn’t be conscious again for at least a hundred years. The twins exchanged a look. 

He was destroying her teams, her backup. He wanted her helpless.

Belphegor shook his head. “I don’t get it,” he told his twin. “I _know_ Reggath. He adores her.” He looked around at the carnage. “He didn’t even kill on the job unless there was no other way.”

Beel was walking around carefully, picking his way through the gore. “I don’t think these guys are as bad we as thought, Belphie.” Waving his brother over, he pointed to a couple places they missed. “Look, all of their heads are still connected by the trapezius, at least a little bit.” He examined more of the demons. “All of these guys should be back in commission in little over a week.”

Belphegor nodded thoughtfully. “That makes more sense. Reggath is up to something, still, and he wants us to think of him as the enemy, at least tonight.” He took out his D.D.D. and shot off a quick text to Jen to update her. “We need to head up to the ballroom now.”

Beel nodded his agreement, and spread his wings. Belphi held his arms up and Beel grabbed him under the arms and they flew to the ballroom.

\-------------------------  
 _120 years ago_

Jen was running as fast as she could to the class wing of her church. She just watched Curtis dive onto an attacker to buy her time. She needed to get to her child. 

She could _feel_ people dying all around her, the screams of pain, the sobbing, the begging, the laughter of their attackers. She slid into the classroom where her child was teaching the youngest children. 

They had gathered all of the children, infants and adolescents alike into the darkest, quietest room in the church, and they were in the process of barricading the door. They tried to hold back a scream when Jen came in, but they were only 16. Jen watched as her child threw their body in front of all 22 of the children, trying to protect them from the improvised bomb that was thrown at them.

Jen screamed in fear, anguish, grief, and pain. She herself was blown back by the blast, into the arms of one the attackers. He grinned evilly at her, a face that would give her nightmares well after she should have been immune to evil. He grabbed her hair in his hand, and held her to his face. 

“Maybe in the next life you won’t choose to follow Nathan Carmichael,” he sneered at her. 

She looked at him in disbelief. “His church is across the street, you mother fucker!” Adrenaline fueling her, she slammed her forehead into his nose. He cursed and dropped her, but she couldn’t scramble away fast enough, and he kicked her in the temple. She prayed the hardest that she’s ever prayed in her entire life, as her vision slowly blacked out.

\------------------------  
 _Back at the ball_

Jen read Belphie’s message over and over again. She wanted to have hope, she wanted to believe Reggath had a bigger plan, but she wasn’t naive. She couldn’t count on that. She slid off of Ajax, and sent him to guard the main entrance. Lucifer nodded, and summoned Cerebus to watch the secret entrances. 

The demons and the angels all had their weapons out, and Solomon was gathering his magic around him. Jen kept her hands free, she was better at improvised weaponry and fighting. More than a few demons had found that out the hard way. 

She walked over to the angels. Simeon gave her a tight smile, and Raphael nodded at her. She looked at poor little Luke, who looked terrified out of his mind. “Why are you still here, sweet one?” she asked, gently. 

Luke choked back a sob, bravely. He wiped his nose on the back of his sleeve, and shook his head. “Simeon says I’m safer here.” 

Everything was fucked if Hell was safer than Heaven. 

“I know who you are,” came Luke’s solemn voice. 

Everyone in the room stilled, waiting. Watching. 

“I wasn’t sure earlier, but you smile the same. Then I knew it when you held me.” 

Belphegor quickly moved to Jen’s side, exchanging a look with Barbatos on the way. 

“You’re Seren’s mother.”

Jen swallowed hard. She didn’t realize that she was starting to shake. She wished she wasn’t wearing a ball gown. She wished she had her gloves. 

“You’re the Angel Maker.”

———————-

_120 years ago_

Jen opened her eyes and knew right away that something was wrong. For one thing, there was a three-legged crow staring at her. She squinted at it, but nope. It totally had three legs. 

“Well, you certainly fucked shit up!” 

And it was totally talking to her. 

“What do you mean?” She asked. 

“You found a loophole,” came a voice behind her. 

She turned and saw a teeny devil, wearing a hoodie. 

“I just prayed, how can that be a loophole?”

“It’s HOW you prayed.” This voice came from above her. She looked up and saw a small specter flowing around in a figure eight. It blew her a kiss. 

“I’m so confused,” Jen sighed, placing her face in her hands. 

“You prayed that you could take ownership of all their sins,” the crow hopped over to her. “To leave their souls sparkly clean! ‘To ease their way to Heaven’.”

“How is that bad?” 

The tiny devil did a little dance. “You added a twist. But I bet you didn’t know it.”

The specter floated down, hugging itself. “When you saw your daughter-“

“Child.”

The specter tipped sideways. “Pardon?”

“We just found out that they are gender neutral. They have no gender. Their new name reflects that. Seren.”

“OHHHHH, that explains it!” the crow exclaimed. 

“When you saw your child die,” continued the specter, as if it was never interrupted, “you begged to take their burden of sin upon yourself.”

“Celestial magic is loving, but tricky!” The little devil kept dancing. “Because you said ‘their’ sins, everyone who has died in this church applies. You took on ALL of their sins.”

The crow continued the tale. “The adults are all on their way to paradise. But the children… well?” He looked to the specter. 

“They’ll be angels. They were so young, they haven’t had time to develop their souls yet. You accidentally purified them.”

Jen was shocked. And excited. Everyone was at peace, at least.

“You might be wondering why _we’re_ here,” the little devil said. The three funny characters danced together. “And not someone from Above.”

Jen watched, hypnotized. 

“That’s because you have a choice to make. Right now. No going back.”

———————

_The ballroom_

Jen paled. She backed up a step. She was shaking, and she felt like she was going to puke. She couldn’t even run right now, they were under siege. 

“Are you ok, Jen? I didn’t mean to upset you,” Luke’s worried voice cut through her distress. 

She forced herself to calm down. “I’m sorry, Luke. You surprised me, that’s all.” She sent him a weak smile. “Although, I don’t know why I was. People have been warning me for days the news was going to drop soon.” She shook her head at her reaction. 

She didn’t dare look at the demons in the room, so she kept her eyes focused on the angels. “So… Seren’s your best friend, huh, Luke?” If there was a thread of hysteria in her voice, he was too nice to mention it. 

Simeon and Raphael gave her sympathetic smiles. Luke cheered a little. “Yes! They are super nice! And smart! Uriel just picked them for an apprentice!” She stood up straighter at that. 

“Thanks Luke. I needed to hear that. When we’re done here we can talk about them more, ok?” She smiled at him and moved to walk back to the windows. 

“Jen, come here,” the Prince commanded. Still avoiding looking at any of the other demons in the room, Jen approached Diavolo with her head down. 

He rumbled gently at her. “You have never failed to hold your head high, Jen. Don’t stop holding it high now.” She raised her eyes to his. 

———————

_120 years ago_

“What choice,” she asked, confused. “I thought I was dead.”

The three giggled in response. “No no no no,” laughed the crow. “You are alive! But! Your soul is in peril.”

Jen wondered if her eternal punishment was to remain perpetually confused. “I would assume so, since I carry the sins of over a hundred people.”

The specter floated up to her face. “Well, see, there’s regular soul peril, then there’s bad person peril. If you die, your soul, in the state that it’s in now, skips hell and goes to oblivion. There are no words to describe it.”

The little devil danced around her feet. “You don’t truly belong there. The Demon Lord Himself feels that it would be a waste to lose you there.”

The three legged crow flapped his wings at her. “Your choice is to die right now and go to oblivion, and God will be pissed and He’ll destroy the new angels, and everything will go on as before. OR you can chose to live, which will piss God the fuck off, but He won’t be able to destroy the new angels because their creator is still alive and He can’t risk another Celestial War.”

“What a choice,” she said dryly. “I pick life.”

The three danced around her and laughed, and she found herself losing consciousness soon enough. 

But as she drifted off, she thought she saw an angel with Seren’s face smile at her.

———————-

_The Ballroom_

She lifted her eyes to Lord Diavolo, and he smiled kindly at her. He pulled her into a hug, shocking her and all of the assembled demons, aside from Barbatos. 

He murmured, “I release you of your vows.” He held her tight to disguise the sudden weakness in her knees from everyone else in the room. 

“Then I will honor the promise I made you so long ago.” She murmured back. “You have earned my loyalty.” He squeezed her a bit tighter, and released her. 

“You’re not getting out of council duties, Lady Jen. I still expect to see you next week.” He teased. 

She snorted, feeling more and more like her regular self again. “Let’s get through tonight, then I’ll start finding ways to avoid the meetings.” 

Her D.D.D. buzzed, letting her know that she had a notification. It was a message from Reggath. She read the message, and sighed with a mixture of relief, anxiety, and a bit of anger. Unaware the Belphegor was still close behind her, she jumped when he swore. He had clearly read the message over her shoulder. 

“What is it?” Lucifer asked. 

“It’s from Reggath.” Jen stated. She read the message out loud. “He says ‘It’s not what it looks like, will explain tomorrow. I pose no threat, and neither does Michael. Keep angels here, Heaven not safe. Palace is safe tonight.”

Lucifer moved in front of Jen. He looked at her seriously, no mockery in his tone. “I have never met Reggath. But I do know Michael, probably better than he knows himself. I don’t believe he’s a threat. How do you feel about Reggath?”

Jen returned his gaze. “I trust him with my life. He’s no threat to anyone in this room.”

He nodded. Looking to the angels, he said, “My friends, I think that it’s best if you stay as our guests tonight.” Raphael and Simeon nodded. Lucifer turned to Barbatos. “My Brothers and I will be staying in the Palace for the foreseeable future. Can you please let the staff know, and then meet Lord Diavolo and I in the war room?” Barbatos bowed and left the ballroom. 

Solomon approached the group. “May I be of assistance, my Lords, my Lady?”

Lord Diavolo answered. “Yes, Solomon. Can you please join Lucifer and I in the war room? I’d like to have you take a look at the wards.” Solomon bowed his agreement. 

Lucifer had gathered his Brothers around him and they were talking in low tones. Ajax had oozed his way back to Jen’s side. She walked back to the angels and knelt in front of Luke. 

“You were super brave today, and Seren will be so proud when you tell them about it.” He threw his arms around her in a tight hug, and only let go when a servant came to escort the angels to their suite. 

She stood lost in thought, stroking Ajax gently as she gathered herself. She should be part of the discussion about securing the palace, but she couldn’t bring herself to face the Brothers yet. She was exhausted, and needed to rest. 

Decision made, she and Ajax slid out of the ballroom unseen, and made her way to her suite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My son is trans, and over the course of his journey, he spent some time exploring his gender-fluidity, and my husband and I spent a lot of time educating ourselves on how we could best support system in the world for him. It breaks my heart that so many people have to make the choice between living as their authentic selves or their families. If anyone at all needs to chat, my inbox is open on tumblr: kimbertmusings


	20. Vampire

Jen walked slowly back to her rooms, Ajax walking protectively by her side. She didn’t bother with the secret passageways or short cuts. She wanted to walk to clear her head, and right now, the Palace hallways were the safest place in three realms. 

She was so, so proud of Seren. Jen hadn’t seen them since they died, and just the little bit of info Luke slipped out was the most detailed information she’d received in a century. She was doubly glad that Uriel pulled his head out of his ass.

He promised her that he would protect and train the new angels. He promised her on the day he blocked her from the Celestial Realm for all time. He had whispered in her ear, “I swear on my life I will protect and train them. Do not worry over them.” Then he gets his first bit of stress and he wants to fucking Fall?

Archangels remind her of the overdramatic drama kids Seren would bring home from school. 

Just look at Lucifer. 

They rounded the corner and entered the corridor that contained her rooms. Ajax started wagging his tail as they approached her door, eager to get to his hearth and his bone. She placed the palm of her hand flat on the door to unlock it, and opened it when she heard the click. 

With a bound and a happy growl, Ajax threw himself down on the hearth and settled into gnawing on the femur she had delivered earlier. Smiling at his antics, she made sure the suite door was locked behind her (despite what Barbatos might think, she was well aware of proper security procedures) and slowly walked into her bedroom. 

Once in the room, Jen became overwhelmed with a sense of helplessness, frustration, and sadness. She sat down hard on the foot of her bed. She buried her face into her hands and tried not to have a nervous breakdown. She decided to focus on her breathing, and only her breathing, to gain some control. 

Beelzebub stood outside of Jen’s suite. He debated with himself about knocking, but he ultimately decided just to walk in. As head of security, he had override permission on all locking wards, including those on private apartments. He waved his hand and the door unlocked. 

He stepped inside, preparing to deal with an angry hellhound. Ajax did not take well to people trying to surprise his mistress. To his surprise, Ajax had only raised his head and leveled a stare at him. Ajax must have approved of what he saw, because he went back to chewing on his large bone. 

Bemused, Beel locked the door behind him and went in search of Jen. She owed him some answers, regardless of everything that’s happened tonight. How could she go from being untouchable to cuddling Luke and being hugged by Diavolo in one night? And how come she was so well-versed in torture? She didn’t even blink at the violence tonight. And the Angel Maker? What was that? He wasn’t as concerned about the blood message. 

He’d lost count of how many assassination attempts on her that his team has foiled. Some demons just couldn’t handle a human in such high favor. 

A quick glance around the large living room and a peek at the dining nook proved she wasn’t in the main rooms. He entered her bedroom, and his heart thumped at the sight that met him. 

Jen was sitting on the foot of the bed, still clad in her finery, and her face was in her hands. She was shaking, and clearly trying to gain some control with breathing exercises. 

She was failing horribly. 

He had never seen her in such a vulnerable state. She always presented herself as confident and always in control. Beel felt like shit for coming here to demand answers when she was clearly in distress, but it was his duty. 

He approached her, keeping his steps heavy to catch her attention. In the state she was in, he certainly didn’t want to scare her. She lowered her hands, and raised her gaze to his face. He was struck by her raw beauty in this moment. He was seeing the person behind the confident facade she presented to the public. 

Beel was seeing the real Jen. 

Jen doesn’t know why she was surprised to see Beel here this evening. He had warned her that he was coming, afterall. She thought he’d join his Brothers in the war room. _I guess I’m the questionable security issue right now._

Jen watched him approach her, and to her shock, he knelt on the floor beside her knees. He smiled at her. She smiled shakily back, completely confused by him. 

“Rough night?” He asked, his face concerned. 

She gave a half laugh. “Yeah, you could say that. How was your night?” She wrung her fingers together, still trying to find some control in this situation. How could she feel so young and so old at the same time?

He placed his hand on her dress covered knee. “We really need to talk tonight, and we really can’t put it off.”

She nodded. “I know.”

He sat back on his heels, and looked at her. “Would you like to change? I know you can’t be comfortable. And I think we’re going to be talking all night.” She nodded, and tried to stoop down to unbuckle her shoes, but her hands wouldn’t stop shaking. 

“Wait, wait,” he softly commanded. “I got you.” Reached forward and grabbed the heel of her left shoe, and brought it forward to his lap. She watched him as he studied the shoe, and carefully, gently, undid the skinny buckle on the strap without touching her skin, and unwound it from her foot. He set the shoe aside, and reached for her right heel. 

This time, he kept his eyes on hers, as he undid the buckle, and slowly moved the straps so he could remove the shoe. She moved her foot back to the floor, watching him as he neatly set the shoe next to its mate. 

She stood, and he followed suit. “I need to get out of this dress. The designer will kill me if I put it through any more trauma.” She smiled softly as she headed for her closet to slip out of it away from his gaze. 

“I saw earlier that you needed help with your zipper,” he said, his voice getting lower. “Let me help with that.” He walked up behind her, and she could feel his breath on the back of her neck. 

“Ok,” she agreed. 

He grasped the toggle and drew down the zipper. He was moving even slower than Belphie did, and her skin bloomed with goosebumps. He reached the bottom on the zipper, and stepped back. “Nice tattoo.”

She gave a genuine chuckle. “Thank you. I’ll take it from here. I’ll meet you in the living room.” She needed a moment to compose herself, and it would be easier if he wasn’t in the room. 

He nodded and left the room. She shuffled to her walk-in closet and shrugged off the gown. She bent over and picked it up immediately, hanging it on the padded hanger. She had no wish to become panda food in the morning. 

Deciding that Beel probably wasn’t patient enough to wait for her to shower, she tossed on a pair of workout shorts, and a t-shirt, skipping the bra. She planned on passing out as soon as Beel was done. 

She padded out to the living room on bare feet. Beel was sitting on one of the couches waiting for her to join him. There was a snap as Ajax managed to break the femur he was chewing on. She walked to the couch opposite Beel, and curled up in the corner. 

Beel smiled at her. “Where’s the bone from?”

“Vampire. Their bones are like concrete, and they don’t splinter,” she said. “I didn’t ask the butcher if they had a name, though, it’s easier that way,” Jen joked. He was clearly going to try to make this interrogation as painless as possible for her, so she could at least return the favor and cooperate. 

There was a sudden knock at the door, and Jen jumped. Ajax stood, but instead of growling or going into attack mode, his tail went into overdrive and his body did a full body happy dance. 

“It’s Belphie,” they told each other simultaneously. They laughed as Beel waved the lock open. Belphie opened the door and was promptly bulldozed by a happy hellhound. He managed to close the door behind him and Beel reset the lock. 

After almost knocking Belphegor off of his feet, Ajax danced around him until Belphie gave up and fussed all over him. Beel grinned at seeing his normally lethargic twin making baby talk at an acid spewing, demon eating, dimension hopping giant puppy. 

“Ah, c’mon, Jen, call him off! I’m too tired for this,” complained Belphie, even as he was giving Ajax a full bodied scratch. 

Jen laughed, and called out the hellhound. “Ajax, that’s enough.” Ajax stopped immediately and returned to Jen’s side. She scratched behind his ear, and told him, “You can go back to your bone, bud.”

He gave her a happy doggie grin, and settled back onto the hearth. 

Belphie shuffled over to Beel’s couch, and flopped down. Beel frowned a little at his twin. “Why aren’t you in bed?”

Belphie sighed dramatically. “Guest beds are the _worst._ So I’m hanging out with you tonight.” He threw his arm over his face. “Pretend I’m not here.”

Beel gave an affable shrug. He leveled his gaze on Jen, and began his questioning. “So, the no touching thing? Why?”

Jen curled up tighter in the corner. “Let me preface all of this by saying it doesn’t matter anymore as of tonight.” Belphie dropped his arm and looked intently at her. 

“Diavolo released you?” He asked. At her nod, he stood abruptly and crossed over to her couch. He flopped down, stretching out the full length and put his head in her lap. He gave a happy sigh. “I’ve been waiting forever to do this.” 

To say Beel was shocked would be an understatement. He and Belphegor did not keep secrets from each other. “Belphie-“ he started, confused. Belphie waved a lazy hand at him. 

“Jen first, then I’ll explain what I know.” Jen looked down at him in her lap, also confused. 

“How did you know?” She asked, but he simply closed his eyes and ignored the question. She looked up at Beel, and shrugged. She began again. 

“In order to come to the Devildom, I had to vow a few things to Diavolo. One was that I wasn’t to make any pacts with any demons at all. Another, I wasn’t allowed to touch with bare skin any of the Brothers. I also vowed never to share these conditions.” She started absentmindedly combing her fingers through Belphie’s hair, gaining comfort from touching him. 

Beel could feel Belphie’s content through their bond, and gave it three minutes before he’d start purring. “Anything else?”

She told them about the conversation she and Diavolo had in the parking lot at the hotel so long ago. They both chuckled when she refused to pledge her life to his. That was so _Jen._

“Why did he make you swear those vows?” She grimaced at the question.

Still combing her fingers through Belphie’s hair, she replied, “I understood the no pact thing. It would have put me in a weird position at Court, and I wouldn’t be able to stay impartial. It also helped me in the long run, the lower demons were able to trust that I wouldn’t enslave them.” Her gaze turned cold and serious. “I’m not lying when I say pacts are glorified slavery.”

Beelzebub reeled in his seat. “You’re the one that destroyed the coven.” He and his Brothers were in the middle of planning how to take down a powerful coven that was abusing their pact with Mammon, when word arrived that the coven had been erased from existence. 

“I did,” she said, coldly. “I’ve destroyed humans who abuse their pactmates. I won’t stand for it.” Belphie sighed happily in her lap. 

Beel stretched out on the couch. He was also feeling the events of the day. This was going better than he had hoped. He had thought Jen would be reluctant to talk, but he should have known that wouldn’t have happened. “But why the no touching thing? And why did you apply it to everyone and not just us?” He grinned, “Although I guess Barbatos figured out how to slide through,” he teased. At her raised eyebrow, he laughed. “Castle guards are the biggest gossips in hell.”

She crinkled her nose at him. “Not that it matters at ALL, but it’s been at least 70 years since we’ve been together.” Beel doesn’t miss the small grin on Belphie’s face. “As far as following that rule with everyone, it’s just easier. Could you imagine Levi if he caught me shaking someone’s hand?” They all grimaced at that. “But I don’t know why I wasn’t allowed to touch you guys.”

“I do,” Belphie interrupted. Jen looked down at his face in shock. Beel looked a little put out that his twin didn’t share this before. 

“There’s a piece of heaven in you.” Belphie shifted so that he was on his back, looking up at her face. “I accidentally brushed against your face a while back, and felt it. I ran to Diavolo and Barb to confront them; after all, we were looking for ‘of-a-piece of Heaven’ through RAD, and here you were, in the flesh.”

Jen looked shell-shocked at the revelation. Beelzebub looked at her with new hope. 

Belphegor continued, “Diavolo and Barb play a long game. They told me to keep it to myself, that it wasn’t time yet. They were trying to avoid war.”

Belphegor raised an arm and stroked her cheek. 

“You’re our missing piece.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I fully admit to copping out on the prompt in this chapter.


	21. Ruri-chan

Jen woke up the following morning feeling like she’d been run over by a truck. After Belphegor’s announcement, she had got up from the couch and locked herself in her bedroom, away from the hope in their eyes. It had been a long ass day, with too many revelations, and she just couldn’t take one more thing. 

Her sleep had been restless, punctuated with weird dreams and memories. Her heart ached with longing to see her child. She felt confused about the Brothers. She was frustrated with Reggath. And she felt gross and dirty from the ball, and worst of all, her fucking feet hurt like a bitch. 

Groaning, she rolled out of bed and headed for her en-suite. She’d start with a shower, and figure out her day from there. 

After her shower, she got dressed in a pair of old jeans and a hoodie, and an old pair of chucks. She just didn’t have it in her to get dressed up today. Grabbing her D.D.D., she checked it for messages as she opened the door to her living room. A tail thumping from the hearth greeted her as Ajax raised his head from his sleep. 

Walking further in, she noticed that each twin had claimed a couch and they were passed out, asleep. She smiled softly at the sight of Beel’s huge form, laying on his back, one arm slung over the back of the couch and one leg on the floor. Belphie was curled onto his side on the other couch, breathing deep and even. 

Ajax walked over to her for morning scratches, and she knelt down to oblige. “Go outside bud, I won’t need you until later,” she told him. He gave himself a shake, and let out a low “woof”, and was gone. 

Since her seating choices were limited, she sat in her dining nook, and continued reading her messages. There was nothing new from Reggath, but her contacts were buzzing with news about strange occurrences and missing demons. There had also been quite a few angel sightings. She laid her device down on the table, and started massaging her temples with her hands. She sighed. This was a fucking mess. 

A hand started rubbing her back, startling her and causing her to instinctively pull away.

“No,” came from behind her. Beelzebub leaned over her, reading her messages over her shoulder. He continued to rub her back over her hoodie. “You need this.” He smiled at her when she twisted in her seat to glare up at him. 

Making sure she didn’t break eye-contact, he deliberately reached down and placed one finger on the back of her hand. Shock coursed through him at the contact, and he realized that Belphie was right. The part of him that would always be an angel felt it, felt that piece of heaven. 

Like a call to home. 

Slowly, he removed his hand, and raised it to cup her face. He ran his thumb along her cheek, and didn’t fail to notice how her eyes softened. 

Belphegor watched their interaction from his place on the couch. He let them believe he was still sleeping, because they needed this moment. He had spent the last seventy years knowing who she was, and he still relived the moment he first touched her every night. He did not regret that she was asleep for it; it felt right for the two of them that she was. 

Last night on her lap, with her hand combing through his hair was the most content he’s been since even before his Fall. 

A knock on the suite door caught all of their attention. Beel and Belphie flashed into their demon forms, only to have Jen tut at them. She stood to open the door, and Beel blocked her way, eyes on the door, a growl low in his throat. 

Belphegor moved to the door, knives in his hands ( _Of course he had hidden knives,_ thought Jen), and called out, low. “Declare yourself.”

A cheerful but respectful voice answered. “Good morning, my Lords, my Lady. Lord Diavolo bids you to join him in the dining hall for breakfast.”

Belphie opened the door to a smiling Barbatos. “We are on our way.” He waved for Jen and Beel to join him, and the three of them walked into the hall. Beel put himself in front of Jen, and Belphie covered her back. 

Barbatos grinned at her disgruntled expression. “It’s only going to get worse,” he warned her cheerfully. 

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me,” she groused at him. Barb smiled, used to her moods, and ignored her jab.

At the t-junction in the hallway, Barb bowed and excused himself. “I need to gather the other guests. Please make your way to the dining hall right away.” He disappeared as all butlers seem to do. 

Beel led the way into the dining room, and she peeled away from the twins as soon as they let her step inside. Diavolo welcomed them from the head of the table. 

“Good morning! Jen, come. Sit here, I want to review some intel with you.” He waved to the empty chair on his left. Lucifer was already sitting in the chair on the Prince’s right, drinking coffee and reading a pile of reports. 

Jen took her seat, and Lucifer pushed half of the report piles toward her. “We’re getting reports of demon nobles going into lock down in their compounds.” He told her, not looking away from the report he was reading. 

She shrugged. “That’s understandable. Last night was a mess.” She reached for the coffee pot in the middle of the table and poured herself a cup. Diavolo nodded. 

“That was the worst panic I’ve seen at a ball, and that’s including the time my father randomly executed half of the attendees.” He leaned back, looking thoughtful. “Something spooked them. Have you heard from your teams yet?” Lucifer looked up sharply at that. 

“Some,” admitted Jen, “but not all of them. I have a few contacts on eight who have reported that there have been angel sightings, but none of my guys actually saw them.” Lucifer continued to stare at her. Feeling more on solid ground now than she'd felt in the last day, she called him on it. 

“What, Lucifer? Is my hoodie not formal enough for you this morning?” She took a sip of her coffee and stared back at him. 

Lucifer put down the report he was reading. “You have teams? They report to you?” At her nod, he continued, sounding pissed. “I thought Reggath was just a weird friend of yours that got tangled up with Michael somehow.”

“That’s probably still true,” she offered. Diavolo hid his smirk behind his coffee cup. Jen slid a glare his way. His timing could be infuriating at times. He’d left Lucifer in the dark on purpose, because he knew he’d be entertained when Lucifer finally found out. 

Lucifer continued to glower at her, and she continued to pretend to ignore it and read the reports in front of her. The chair next to hers slid out, and Satan sat down. She passed him the reports she’d already read. 

Eventually, all of the Brothers had joined them, and Barbatos had served breakfast. There was no conversation as everyone was busy tracking down leads or trying to read between the lines in various reports. 

It was Leviathan who was able to move the group forward. One of his contacts reported there was a conspicuous group of people backstage at her live show last night, clearly there to pass information. “I know that a group of grown men in football jerseys aren’t backstage at a Ruri-Chan LIVE! show for the meet’n’greet,” she had texted, drily. “They reminded me more of when I used to do a different kind of dancing.” Poor Levi was a blushy mess after that exchange. 

“You run a major branch of the military, and you got all flustered about a stripper comment?!” Satan teased Levi. 

“Yeah, well I was FINE until I imagined her dressed as Ruri-Chan and stripping!” returned the embarrassed Levi. 

The Brothers continued to tease Levi, even as he logged into a laptop and pulled up the security footage from the theater. Belphegor stood up to go look over his shoulder. 

Levi managed to find the relevant footage, and Belphie hissed through his teeth. Curious, Asmodeus joined him. A growl rose in his chest, and his demon form popped out. All other movement at the table stopped. 

“Asmodeus, report!” Mammon’s order snapped through the air. 

Asmo glared at the screen, like it personally insulted him. “It’s fucking Gabriel.” It was like a match was lit to a fuse, as all of the demons, including Diavolo and Barbatos transformed all at once. 

Unbothered, Jen reached for a piece of bacon. “So, that’s bad, huh?” She had never met Gabriel. 

“He’s a fucking lunatic with a halo,” Satan growled. “I thought they had him locked up?” He was starting to glow with his Wrath, and Jen pitied the poor demon that got in his way this morning. 

“He was. That was part of the treaty with my father,” growled Diavolo. Jen was a little taken aback by that. She’d never seen Diavolo truly angry. Deciding to step away from the angry demons, she stood up from the table and went to stand by the window. 

Mammon blocked her way before she’d gone more than three steps. “Don’t. Gabriel hates one thing more than demons, and that’s humans. ‘Specially ones that consort with demons.” He looked to his brothers for confirmation. 

Satan nodded. “That would explain the unicorn blood.” He pulled his wrath back into himself more. “He’s either watching you, or having you watched.” He looked toward his brothers. “I need to head to the library. I think we were set up to destroy those demons last night.”

Jen’s face must’ve fell, because Mammon hastened to reassure her. “They were part of this, darlin’, no doubt. But what Satan’s tryin’ to say is, we’re cleanin’ up his loose ends for ‘im.” He smiled at her, “you moved up his timeline, I bet.” 

Asmodeus agreed. “Without you breaking that human last night, it would’ve taken another fifty to a hundred years before we found all of the players.” His grin turned bloodthirsty. “He’ll be on the run.”

Satan gathered his notes, his tail twitching in aggravation. “I’m leaving, I need to access the archives to review that last time we fought this fucker.”

“I’ll join you,” Asmo said. “I want to talk to the rest of the archivists.” The two of them left the room, discussing plans. 

Beelzebub spoke up. “I need to go, too, I need to review the guards.” He walked up to Jen, and rubbed the back of his knuckle on her cheek. “Please stay in the Palace today. Please.” To her utter embarrassment, her face bloomed in a blush. 

Belphie chuckled and surprised her by hugging her from behind. “I need to go, too. Call Ajax, keep him with you today.” He let go of her, and the twins left together. 

Still blushing furiously, she looked up at the rest of the room. Barbatos and Diavolo were grinning wildly, Mammon looked confused as fuck, Levi eyes were glowing with envy, and Lucifer, well…

He looked fucking furious. 

Used to Lucifer glaring at her, Jen returned to her seat across the table from him. She ignored him, and addressed Diavolo. “Looks like I’m grounded. I’ll keep trying to get a hold of Reggath, but otherwise, I’ll stick to my rooms.” Jen was no fool. She knew she had no chance against an archangel, especially one as crazy as Gabriel seemed to be. 

Lord Diavolo nodded, more to himself, than at her. “Grand Admiral Leviathan,” he said. Levi snapped to attention. “I need someone in the Human Realm. Normally, I’d send Jen, but I agree with the Commander that’s too much of a risk. I need you to go. Stay in salt waters, and stay deep. I don’t want him to know I have someone of power on earth at all.” Levi stood, saluted, and left immediately. “General Mammon, please escort Lady Jen to her rooms and stay there. Your priority is to keep her safe.” 

Even as Mammon nodded at his command, Lucifer spoke up. “I have questions for her, I’d like to be the one to escort her, My Lord.” 

“No.” The command was absolute. No one argued with the Prince when he used that tone, not even Lucifer. 

Jen stood to leave with Mammon, anxious to leave now that there were two angry powerful demons in the room. Barbatos escorted them to the door. “My Lord, My Lady, I will personally bring your meals to you. Let no one else in other than the Avatars and Lord Diavolo.”

Mammon nodded in agreement, and exited out of the door first, in full bodyguard mode. Jen flashed a smile at Barb and stepped into the hall. Once the door closed behind her, she grabbed her silver whistle and blew. Ajax appeared almost instantly, which meant he’d been close by. 

Mammon wasted no time walking to her rooms, utilizing every short cut and secret passageway he knew to get her there in the shortest amount of time, Ajax watching their backs. He didn’t breathe easy until they were in her rooms, behind multiple wards. He walked the suite, placing additional wards on all of her windows and her chimney. 

While Mammon was completing his sweep, Jen had Ajax do his. He had a knack for finding nooks and crannies that other beings tend to forget. Such a shame he scared the Little D’s so badly. They’d be helpful today. 

She curled up in her favorite corner on the couch, while Ajax rested on the hearth. She once again checked her D.D.D. for a message from Reggath, but she had nothing. 

Mammon crashed down on the couch next to her, back in his everyday form. He leaned over into her personal space. “Since two of my brothers got to touch ya,” he began, “seems only fair I give ya the thank you that I tried to give ya at the funeral the other day.” 

He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. 

And his world spun. “Holy shit,” he whispered. 

“Yeah,” Jen replied. “I know.”


	22. Bunnies

Mammon continued to stare at Jen. She fidgeted in her seat, her hands toying with her D.D.D. She didn’t even know where to begin with him. Mammon was the one Brother who fully believed in the prophecy, he was one of the biggest champions of RAD, convinced they’d find their missing piece. 

“Why did you keep this from us?” The question snapped at her like a slap. He stared at her like he wanted to both destroy her and hold her. 

Jen’s voice was low as she answered. “I didn’t know until last night.” He looked at her skeptically, and she hurried into the explanation of her vows to Diavolo and Belphegor’s revelation. 

He reached out, slowly, and grabbed her one of her hands. He carefully entwined their fingers, and sighed. “I am so sorry we left ya alone this whole time.” He sighed again, and looked at their wrapped fingers. “We coulda kept ya safe, you wouldn’t have wanted for anythin’. We would’ve treated ya like our rarest treasure.”

Jen was starting to understand why Diavolo and Barbatos didn’t tell anyone. 

Grinning, she shifted in her seat so she was looking directly at Mammon. “Could you imagine me as locked away like a princess?” At his startled look, she continued. “I’m good at what I do, Mammon. I’m one of the best.” He started to interrupt, but she shook her head at him. 

“You don’t know half of what I do. Belphie knows, because our paths cross in the field.” His eyes widen a little at that, Belphegor’s job is not neat, nor nice. “I run what people call ‘The Cleaners’, but we don’t call ourselves anything. I have intelligence teams in all eight layers of hell and all over earth. I have destroyed covens, villages, and beings, and salted the ashes. I’m friends with peasants, and deadly enemies with nobles. If I didn’t do what I do, Diavolo’s reign would be less secure, and we would possibly all be dead with Mephisto on the throne.” She looked at him, expression serious. “I’ve brokered secret treaties, bribed demons with human goods, negotiated pacts between demons and humans in favor of the demon.” She tried to tug her hand away, but he held on tighter. 

She lowered her eyes, and stared unseeing at the floor. “I would never be happy as someone’s doll.”

Mammon gave a tug her hand that made her turn his direction. With his other hand, he tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. “You should have never been left alone in the first place.” He smiled at the argument that was rising in her eyes. “I mean, why didn’t ya know what was up with your kid? Why couldn’t ya be with ‘em?” He swallowed as he asked his big question. “And where’s the kid’s dad?”

Jen took a deep breath, and told Mammon everything. He listened without interrupting, although Jen could tell that if certain people were still alive, that wouldn’t have been for much longer. 

“Wait-,” Mammon interrupted. “Are you sure you heard Michael ask Simeon where Gabriel was? When they cursed you?” Surprised, Jen nodded. 

“Does that mean anything to you?” Jen asked. 

Mammon dropped her hand and jumped up. He started pacing, and he ran his hand through his hair. “Gabriel would’ve jumped at the chance to punish a human. ‘Specially since he woulda been let outta heaven to do it.” He spun, and unfocused his eyes in a way that let Jen know that he was calling in his Little D’s. 

Three of them tumbled into being at his call. One and Three stood on the back of the couch, waiting patiently (or as patiently as little balls of energy could do), but Two was climbing all over Jen and making faces at Ajax. Jen grinned, Number Two was her favorite, and he knew it.

“WHAT THE HELL IS ON YOUR HEAD?!” Mammon roared at Number Two. Mammon had the least formal arrangements with his Little D compared to the others, and was too soft-hearted to discipline and train them. As a result, they had developed actual personalities, to the chagrin of their Avatar.

“Oh, stop it, Mammon!” Jen scolded. “I think he looks adorable.” The afore-mentioned sprite had clipped bunny ears onto his horns, and was currently hopping all over the couches. One and Three were cheering him on, and placed their hands alongside their horns to copy him. Ajax, sworn enemy to all Little Ds, was cocking his head in confusion at the scene. Jen watched as Mammon’s face flushed to a pretty shade of red. 

“OI! STOP YOU LITTLE SHITS!” Mammon roared. All three sprites stopped and turned to look at him, One and Three keeping their hands up as pretend ears. Two pretended to cower, and jumped over to Jen’s lap. She mock snuggled him, pretending to glare at Mammon. Mammon grimaced at her, and glared at his Little D’s. “Yo, we gotta protect Jen now, guys.”

The three Little D’s snapped to attention. Jen was their favorite being, aside from Mammon. Mammon nodded, recognizing that he had their attention. “One, go tell Lucifer that Gabe’s been in play for at least 120 years.” One chattered his agreement, hands still up beside his horns. He jumped and folded out of sight. “Three, find Satan, tell ‘im to look up the archives about the CR 120 years ago. He’s lookin’ for signs of unexplained power surges.” Three pirouetted, and blinked away.

Mammon looked soberly at Two. “You buddy, are goin’ with Jen to her place in the Human Realm.” Two chattered at him. Mammon nodded, “Yeah, he’ll clear it. Be back in here in one hour.” Two danced around, bunny ears flopping. He spun once, disappearing.

“What’s this about me going to the Human Realm?” Jen asked, more curious than pissed. She accepted that Mammon understood more of this situation than she did. Plus, she really liked her house on earth.

Mammon put his hands in his pockets. “I’ll explain when Dia and Barb get here.” He looked at her. “Can you answer me somethin’?” She shrugged. “The tattoo.” She broke into a huge grin. “What’s it mean? Why a lizard?” He asked.

She waved him over to sit next to her. She took his hands in hers, took a deep breath, and looked into his eyes. “It’s not just a lizard. It’s a gecko.” She almost laughed at the confusion in his eyes. “When I was 21, I really, really liked this insurance company commercial that had a talking gecko. I thought it was the funniest thing I had ever seen.” She laughed, watching the dawning amused horror rising in Mammon’s expression. “I got drunk with friends one night, and they dared me to tattoo a gecko on my back. I was sober enough to insist on a realistic picture, and to place it mid-back.”

Bone deep laughter exploded from him. “Ya mean to tell me,” he gasped, “that human last night was terrified of an insurance mascot?!”

She frowned at him. “Don’t take away my credit. He was terrified of _me._ I am a fucking badass.”

The laughter in Mammon’s eyes died down, to be replaced with an unfamiliar heat. She shifted a little, becoming a little uncomfortable under his gaze. “Yeah, ya are,” he growled, lowly. “And if we had time, baby, I’d ask ya ta show me just how badass you can be.” He leaned forward, placing his forehead against hers. “I know this is too soon, baby. I know this is all new to ya and to us. I’ve watched Levi try to get used to casual touching after he’s spent so much time alone in the sea.” He gave her a gentle kiss on the tip of her nose. “I’ll make sure the others give ya space. But I’ll be damned again if I leave ya alone ever again.”

A single tear ran down her face before she realized it. Mammon cupped her face in his hands, and brushed the tear away with his thumb. Keeping his forehead against hers, he whispered, “We got you, baby.”

A knock at the door broke the mood, and Mammon flashed into his demon form and sped to the door. “Yeah?” he challenged. 

“It’s Lord Diavolo and myself,” Barbatos replied. Mammon relaxed the wards and opened the door to admit the Prince and the butler. Once they entered, Mammon reinforced the wards once again. Barb studied the wards, nodding in approval. 

“General,” Lord Diavolo greeted Mammon. He nodded at Jen. “I have two questions. First: why are you sending Jen to earth against my orders?” He crossed his arms, making no move to make himself comfortable. Mammon stood at attention. 

“Gabriel knows she’s in the Devildom. I’m guessing that Michael and Reggath are leading him on a rabbit chase, because that’s what I would do if I were them.” Mammon looked nothing like the relaxed troublemaker he so often portrayed. “If we slide her out on a temporary portal, from this room, he should be distracted enough that he misses the magic signature.”

Diavolo nodded. “Alright, I approve, provided that you stay here in the Devildom. Between the hellhound, your familiar, and Jen herself, that’s plenty of protection.” Mammon nodded. “My second question to you is this: why did you put bunny ears on your familiar?”

Jen laughed merrily from her spot on the couch. Barb had joined her while Diavolo and Mammon spoke. They both looked over the back of the couch, smiling widely. “Oh Number Two likes showing off for me,” she laughed. She crossed her arms on the back of the couch and set her chin on them. “Why are we so convinced that Gabriel is coming after me?”

Diavolo walked to the couches, and took a seat on the cross across from her. “It’s a little dark in over here, Jen. You should get a lamp!” he teased. 

She rolled her eyes. “I HAD a lamp. It’s now in Lucifer’s trophy room.” She tucked her legs up under her, having long since abandoned any formality in her own rooms. “Now tell me.” 

Lord Diavolo raised an eyebrow at her. “Please,” she amended. 

He nodded at her. “Gabriel tried to take down hell a few millennia ago. The Brothers had Fallen about five hundred years earlier, and they were just coming into their full powers. My father was still in charge at that point, and He and God had always had a good working relationship.” He looked at Jen’s surprised face. “Balance is necessary in the universe. And human souls feed both realms. A good relationship between leadership keeps all three realms thriving.”

Mammon took up the story. “Gabe did not take our Fall at all well. He was convinced that hell seduced us, and stole us from the Father.” Mammon’s expression dropped, remembering. 

“If Gabriel became so angry, why didn’t he Fall?”

“Because in his heart, his soul, he’s convinced that he is righteous and holy. To Fall is a choice, Jen.” Barbatos looked at her, soberly. “He blamed humans for the Brothers’ Fall. If they weren’t so steeped in sin, there would be no need for Avatars. He came down on humans with a vengeance. His hatred and purge was so epic, humans still pass down stories of it, passing it off as actions of God or the Demon Lord.”

“It took all of the powers of the Celestial Realm and the Devildom to subdue him,” Diavolo said. 

“Luckily, we had a new powerball of Wrath, by the name of Satan on our side,” Mammon explained. “Satan was barely old enough to fight, but Gabe had never met ‘im. Satan was able to pull enough wrath to clobber ’im on his blindside, while teams from both realms locked ‘im in a bunch o’ bindings, and God and the Demon Lord made a treaty that ensured that Gabe stayed in the Celestial Realm.”

“That fight knocked my dad on his ass,” Diavolo commented. “It’s one of the reasons I took over.”

“Gabriel poisoned the Celestial Realm against humans, Jen,” Barb said. “To have a bunch of human born angels show up in heaven would be the ultimate insult. To have the most powerful of them be the child of the human Angel Maker? If Gabriel is free now, it explains every attempt on your life since you came here.”

“Well not EVERY attempt,” Diavolo grinned. “Demons are a salty bunch, after all!”

Jen chuckled. “And why so much effort to protect me?”

The reaction from the three demons in the room would have made her laugh if her heart wasn’t so busy growing. Barb scoffed at her, and Diavolo shook his head, smiling warmly at her. Mammon reached over the back of the couch and enveloped her in a giant hug. 

“You’re mine, baby. I’m never lettin’ ya go,” he murmured. 

Number Two folded into the room, bunny ears still attached. Mammon pulled back from the hug. “It’s time, baby. Come stand over here.” 

She stood, signaled Ajax to join her, and moved to where Mammon indicated. Barb and Diavolo joined them. It would take the three of them to activate the temporary portal. Diavolo would provide the power, Mammon the spell, and Barbatos the direction. 

“Once you arrive, signal to Leviathan that you’re in the realm.” Lord Diavolo ordered. She nodded, and tightened her grasp on Ajax’s back. He nudged her in reassurance. 

There were a few crackles, a change of air pressure, and a glowing portal appeared. 

Jen, Number Two, and Ajax plunged through without a backwards glance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story has become much bigger than I anticipated.


	23. Ocean and Beach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CW: violence

It had been a few days since Jen, Number Two, and Ajax had arrived at her home in the Human Realm, and she was starting to feel rather put out. 

She knew better than to reach out to anyone via D.D.D. for news. Someone was most certainly watching for earth traffic on the network, and she didn’t want to lead anyone here. The only beings in three realms who knew where her compound was located were Barbatos, Ajax, the Prince, and now probably Mammon, through Number Two. 

Even the human authorities thought that this place was a private historical family trust site, and never ventured onto the land. 

She liked coming here to relax. Every luxury of the human realm was in her giant home, and not one bit of magic. Surrounded by a forest, and located on the rocky shores of the Pacific, Jen was able to experience something that she never could in the Devildom: absolute silence. 

And it was currently driving her batshit crazy. 

Barb had clearly been in the house sometime in the past week, because it had been fully stocked with fresh food and the linens had been changed. There were new planters on her deck, and the house didn’t feel nearly as musty as it should have. 

The little shit knew she was going to have to hide here. 

Currently, in order to keep her brain occupied and not focused on everyone in the Devildom, she was trying to figure out how to contact Levi. Even if she could safely use her device, he couldn’t use it in the ocean. And she had no magic to speak of, which is how everyone gets in contact with him. She stood just inside the tree line, staring at the rocky shore. 

She loved how the beaches in the Pacific Northwest were made up of small rocks, sand, and driftwood. It was so picturesque, and made for interesting tidal pools in odd spots. Jen moved cautiously out of the tree line, and onto the beach, Ajax by her side. 

She walked slowly, trying to force herself to enjoy the morning. The clouds gave the sunlight a muted quality, changing the colors of the ocean and the shore. She was startled by a voice hailing her. Ajax growled low in his throat, but made no move to leave her side. She looked down the beach, in the direction of the voice. 

A man holding a paddle board was walking down the rocky beach, toward her. “Good morning!” He called. “Great day to be on the beach, right?” She could see his grin, even though he was at least a hundred yards away from her still. 

All of her instincts screamed at her. No one paddle boarded on the fucking ocean out here, it was too rough. He wasn’t wearing shoes, but he also wasn’t doing that wince walk that people do on sharp rocky shores. She didn’t know who or what this guy was, but he was clearly bad news. 

But she also needed to know his game, so she let him approach. “It is,” she replied, cautiously. He kept grinning at her, coming closer. He was beautiful, his hair falling to his shoulders in blonde waves. His body looked like it had been carved by God Himself. He was sending out an aura of calm, inviting her to come closer. 

Jen eyed him with caution, sensing that he wasn’t an archangel, but he wasn’t powerless, either. Ajax placed his body between Jen and the unknown man. 

“I’m Nathan,” the man cheerfully introduced himself. Ajax pressed against her legs, making her take a few steps backward. “I’m glad to meet you. My friends are nearby and I bet they’d LOVE to meet you.”

“Good morning,” she replied. “I’m sorry, but you are making my dog nervous, so I’m going to ask that you just pass us by this morning.” Ajax continued pressing her backwards. 

Nathan continued to smile at her, even as his approach turned menacing. “I’m afraid I can’t do that, _Angel Maker,_ ” he hissed. “Gabriel wants you. He’s going to make an example of you. He’s going to destroy your creations in front of you.” He lunged at her just as Ajax pushed her so that her foot slipped into the water. 

—————-

A pulse echoed through the water, catching his attention. He changed course and flew through the water to its source. 

—————

Jen was standing ankle deep in water, the tide pushing and pulling her at the same time. Nathan had abandoned all pretense of kindness and had unveiled his wings. She guessed that she was supposed to be impressed, but honestly, a single pair of boring white wings? Meh. He walked toward her with malice in his eyes. “Or maybe I’ll just kill you myself. Gabriel won’t mind.” A glowing sword flashed into being in his hand. 

Ajax, strangely enough, had stepped to the side. 

Nathan lunged at her, causing her to fall back into the water. Something wrapped around her arm and pulled her back sharply. She gasped, getting a mouthful of seawater for her trouble. Orange eyes glowed at her from under water. She relaxed, and a tentacle wrapped around her waist, keeping her head above water. 

Nathan looked angry, and flew over the water toward her, sword extended. Another tentacle rose out of the water and grabbed him from the air, making him drop his sword and breaking his wings in the process. The angel howled in agony as he was slammed hard on the surface of the water. Another tentacle rose into the air, and grabbed the angel’s legs. There was a disgusting ripping sound as the angel was pulled completely in half. 

Ajax howled and shook himself until he was the size of a small house. The tentacle flipped half of the angel toward him, and the hellhound caught it in his mouth and swallowed. The second piece followed quickly after, and then the angel was no more. Ajax burped, and shook until he was back to a German Shepherd once more. 

Jen floated serenely in the embrace of the tentacle, knowing that she was perfectly safe, and that Levi would put her back on shore when he was good and ready. She felt a second tentacle tease the back of her knee, and she pulled away out of instinct. The tentacle wrapped firmly around her leg, almost like a reprimand. She felt herself being pulled further out into deeper waters, toward the glowing orange eyes shimmering just under the surface.

She felt the tentacle on her leg shrinking in size as she was drawn closer into Levi’s body, the one around her waist changing in texture, but still holding firm. Eventually, the tentacle holding her leg disappeared, and she found herself held against the torso of a very angry Leviathan.

They were face to face, his sunset eyes burning into hers, his horns reminding her of coral. His tail was still wrapped firmly around her waist, touching bare skin where her t-shirt had ridden up. “So were you just not going to tell me, ever?” he snapped at her. She could see the hurt in eyes, behind the envy that was always there. 

“I didn’t know until a couple of days ago, Levi.” Her eyes narrowed at his scoffing. “I didn’t! Hell, even Lucifer doesn’t know yet!” That seemed to mollify him. As long as he knew before some of his Brothers, his envy could be countered. “How did you find me?” she asked.

“I knew as soon as you stepped in the water,” he said. “It’s a charm I placed on you a while back when I realized how often you were out alone in the realms.” He watched her features soften, as she realized that he’d been watching out for her. “I know what being alone feels like, Jen. There were centuries that I did nothing but sit on the bottom of the ocean.” He shifted so that he held her against him with his arms, his tail a firm pressure on her back. 

She leaned in and laid her head on his shoulder. Content to drift and be held, she let out a deep breath and closed her eyes. He squeezed her tighter, marveling how right she felt in his arms. All too soon, though, Levi broke the silence. 

“Mammon sent a message that plans had changed, but I didn’t expect to see you this far north.” He started slowly moving them back to shore with a few lazy kicks. “Normie like you, I thought you’d be somewhere warm, closer to the equator.” 

She took a minute to marvel at Levi in his home element. He was as confident in the water as Mammon was on land, or Lucifer in the air. “I grew up about 200 miles inland from here, on the Sound. I love the combination of trees and salt water, but I needed somewhere remote, so people didn’t ask questions. I found this place, eighty- maybe closer to ninety- years ago.” 

He nodded, and she felt his tail slide away. She felt solid ground under her feet, and started walking toward the beach, where a patient Ajax was waiting. Levi stayed next to her, waiting to lend a hand if she needed it, but otherwise giving her space. 

Once on the beach, Jen was acutely aware of her soaked jeans and sneakers. She felt so gross and squelchy, and wanted to head back to the house to change immediately. She turned to Levi to invite him up to the house. Her words got caught in her throat. 

He was running his gaze along her wet clothed body with undisguised lust. He was still in his demon form, and his tail was twitching and drifting her direction. 

“Levi?” She managed to squeak out. He gave himself a shake and transformed into his everyday form. He smirked at her. 

“Gonna invite me in, Jen?” He looked at her from under his purple bangs. “Are you going to let a gross otaku like me touch all of your personal, private, stuff?” He purred the last few words. 

Jen would never, ever believe anything about Levi being shy again. 

“Why don’t you follow me and see what happens?” She taunted. She turned and walked away with as much dignity her squelchy shoes could give her. Ajax moved to walk in front of her, leading the way up the windy path up to the house. Jen could feel Levi’s eyes on her ass. 

They soon broke into the clearing that contained her house. “Whoa,” Levi said, impressed. A large three story log home with a wraparound deck took up the large clearing without being obnoxious. “How do you keep the humans away?”

Jen led the way to the back door, signaling through the window to Number Two to unlock the door. “They think it’s a weird family private historical site. The downside is I can’t get any deliveries.” Number Two let them in and then danced back to the tv show he’d been watching. 

Levi cocked his head. His guys wouldn’t leave the water when Ajax was around, but this Little D didn’t give a shit. “Why is he wearing rabbit ears?” 

Jen rolled her eyes. “Don’t ask. Mammon doesn’t even know.” She took her squelchy shoes off, and peeled her wet socks off. She walked into a small room in the basement and tossed them in the laundry basket. She waved Levi to follow her upstairs. “The main floor is up here.” She padded barefoot up the stairs, and Levi appreciated the way the stairs kept her ass at his eye level. 

They emerged from the lower level into a giant great room, with floor to ceiling windows. “Make yourself at home, I’m going to peel out of these clothes and take a shower,” Jen told Levi. “Then we can make a plan for those ‘friends’ Nathan mentioned.” She ran up another flight of stairs, headed for the master suite. 

She walked into her room and promptly peeled off her soaked t-shirt, tossing it in the hamper by the bathroom door. She unbuttoned her jeans and started the arduous process of rolling the salt water soaked denim off of her legs. It was a much more difficult task than she thought it would be, and she hopped her way to sit on her bed so she could peel the jeans over her feet. 

Laughter from the doorway distracted her, and she looked up to see Levi leaning on the door frame with his hands in his pockets. She found herself feeling self-conscious, sitting on her bed in her bra and underwear, and fucking soaked jeans bunched around her ankles.

He must’ve seen some of that bleed through in her expression, because he was across the room and kneeling at her feet in a heartbeat. “Let me help, wet jeans are the fucking WORST.” He grabbed her foot, and way more gently than Jen expected, worked the jeans off of her, tossing them at the hamper when they finally came off. 

Jen suddenly realized that not only was she clad only in her bra and underwear, she was halfway laying on a bed, and the Avatar of Envy was kneeling on the floor in front of her. 

“You know,” he began, conversationally. “When a knight saves a fair maiden’s life, he usually gets at least a kiss as a thank you.” He started gently running his fingers along her leg. “And while I’m not a knight, I DID save your life today.” He peeked at her through his hair. 

Jen smiled at him. “While I am certainly no maiden, you definitely saved my life today.” She crooked her finger at him. “Come get your thank you.”

He wasted no time as he crawled up her body and pressed her into the bed. He nuzzled her nose with his, then softly kissed her mouth, so so gently. Jen kissed him back, loving the feeling of him pressed along her body. She raised her knee to allow him to settle against her heat, and she felt his growing arousal. He became more intense with his kisses, nipping at her until she opened her mouth, and when she did, he groaned as he tasted her, grinding his pelvis into hers. 

“Oh gross.”

The unexpected voice caused them both to stop, and turn their heads to the door. 

Standing in the doorway was a teenager with dark hair, clad in black from head to toe, with several facial piercings. Behind them was an embarrassed Uriel. 

“I am NOT calling him Dad.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every parent on the planet has been cockblocked by their kid.


	24. Idols

_Meanwhile, back in the Devildom_

“Your father’s not postponing, My Lord?” asked a surprised Barbatos. Whatever magic the Demon King contained blocked Barbatos’s ability to see into his timeline. An agitated Lord Diavolo sat at his desk, drumming his fingers.

“He is not,” Diavolo confirmed. “As a matter of fact, he is most adamantly demanding that I recall Jen and Leviathan from the human realm immediately, and he’s moving up the date and time of the audience.” Frustrated, Diavolo pushed back from his desk and started pacing in his office. “I’ve got fucking Gabriel traisping around Hell, wrecking havoc on anyone who looks at him cross-eyed, I’ve got fucking Michael hanging around somewhere making out with fucking lower level demons, Jen’s finally been outed and the fucking Brothers are mooning around like lovesick chickens-” he interrupted himself to take a sip of his tea, only to knock over the cup and spill it on the floor. “AND EVERYTHING BAD IS HAPPENING!”

Barb swallowed his smile. He didn’t often get to see his Prince like this, but it always reminds him of when he was a small spawn. “Moving the audience will not be a problem, My Lord. The invitee list was always going to be small, and adjusting the timing is a small matter.” Diavolo wasn’t soothed by this at all.

“Get Lucifer in here now.”

\----------------------

Lucifer Morningstar, the Avatar of Pride, could feel the start of a headache building. He was currently in one of the palace common rooms with five of his Brothers, two of which were trying to strangle the other three. Normally, he’d put a stop to it right away, but since he wanted to strangle them as well, he decided to let it play out.

Beelzebub, Belphegor, and Mammon had decided that they needed to let Asmodeus, Satan, and Lucifer know about Jen, thinking that it was the right thing to do. Unfortunately, Belphie and Mammon thought it would be a great idea to just work it into a casual conversation and try to walk away. 

“Yeah, so the reports from the dungeon are about the same, and Jen is our missing piece, and I need to go take a nap before I head back out.” Belphie had said, about as subtle as a bird wearing overalls.

“That sounds great, the witches aren’t reporting any weird buying patterns, and Jen runs The Cleaners, and now I gotta go see a guy about a thing,” Mammon answered, just as subtle. They both stood to leave, when Beel grabbed them both by the collars and shoved them back into the seats.

“You are NOT leaving me with this mess,” he growled at them.

_And honestly, that was probably what really brought this whole situation to where we are now,_ thought Lucifer. _If Beelzebub had just let them leave, we wouldn’t even have registered what they said for at least a few hours._

Predictably, Satan exploded first. “WHAT THE FUCK? You were just going to drop that and walk the fuck away? How do you fucking know all that?” 

Lucifer had to give the three credit, they told the whole story as they knew it, Mammon filling in the holes Belphegor and Beelzebub didn’t know. It was an impressive feat of verbal gymnastics. He didn’t know why he was so surprised by the Cleaners thing. It seemed just like a Jen thing to do. 

Plus, he saw her swing that bat. The pure confidence she had exuded, he could feel her pride roll off of her in a tidal wave. _Jen is good at what she does, and she knows it,_ he had thought then. It had made him want to see her work in other arenas. 

Asmo was currently in full bloodlust, and trying to attack Mammon. “WHERE IS SHE?! How could you do this without her here?!” Asmo was actually ecstatic about the news, he had been dying to meet his counterpart in the intelligence arena, and to know that it was Jen all along? He was so proud of her. And it made perfect sense to him that she was their missing piece, wasn’t she the ONE being in the realms that didn’t demand a piece of him or his Brothers? But still…

“DID YOU LEAVE HER ALL ALONE WHEN GABRIEL IS FUCKING OUT THERE?!” 

“Asmo, please,” Lucifer sighed. “Let’s keep it to a dull roar.” One of his Little Ds folded into existence by his chair, holding a missive from Barbatos. He grabbed it and started reading, ignoring his Brothers for the moment.

Satan, while no less angry at his Brothers, had settled into a cold rage. He had suspicions about Jen on both subjects long ago, and while he was relieved that she didn’t leave them in the dark on purpose about their entwined fates, he was less than pleased about her mucking about in hell’s underbelly. “Where is she?” he asked, coldly.

“I can’t tell ya,” Mammon said. “Levi’s with her, though. She’s safe enough right now.”

Lucifer interrupted. “Actually, Mammon, you and I are needed in the Prince’s office. We need to recall Jen and Levi.” He was still holding the note from Barb as he stood. He looked at his brothers. “The Demon King is commanding an audience tonight. Be prepared.” He signalled to Mammon and they left to join Diavolo in his office.

\------------

Levi rolled off of Jen like she was covered in fire, and Jen dove for the bathrobe she kept on the back of the bathroom door. She clumsily shoved her arms in and wrapped the tie around her body. She stumbled toward the teenager in the doorway. “Seren?” she asked, hopefully. 

The teenager gave a crooked smile. “Hey, Ma.”

Jen crashed into them, squeezing them tight. “My angel baby, I’ve missed you so much.” Tears spilled from her eyes before she realized it. 

Seren patted her back awkwardly. “Ok, ok, that’s enough, Ma,” they said, sounding like the awkward teenager she remembered. Jen pulled back, holding Seren at arms’ length to look at them. A maternal frown flickered before she could stop it.

“A lip piercing.” She snorted and dropped her arms. “How very hard core of you.” Seren grinned. Jen walked around to the other side of the bed, where Levi lay huddled on the floor. “Levi, sweetheart, please get up, they know you’re here.” He stood, a blushing mess. The confident, sexy side of him was completely gone. She grabbed his hand and refused to let go. “Let’s all go downstairs to the great room, and we’ll catch up.”

\----------------

Lucifer and Mammon walked companionably down the castle corridor together. Lucifer usually enjoyed times like this. No one being in the three realms knew him better, and he didn’t have to waste any energy keeping up a facáde when it was just Mammon around. Today, though, he could see Mammon had something serious on his mind. 

“Yo, bro,” Mammon said, quietly, “how long did you know Jen was the one?”

Lucifer didn’t pretend to misunderstand. Mammon knew him too well for that. “Since shortly after we met.” He stopped, and drew Mammon into a hidden alcove in the hallway. He wanted to make sure he answered Mammon’s questions, but he didn’t want to draw any attention their way either. 

He could feel Mammon’s frustration mounting, and tried to cut off some of the questions. “You know her, Mammon. She’s stubborn as hell, and I’m always surprised that none of you can feel the pride that drips off of her. If we tried to make her anything less than our equal, it would’ve been a disaster.”

Mammon let out a gust of a sigh, and leaned against the wall. “Diavolo know that you know? Because that’s fucked if he did the RAD thing anyway.” 

Lucifer shook his head. “No, I said nothing. I wanted to see how everything would unfold on its own. And I wanted my brothers to meet and interact with other humans, to learn of them, to befriend them, to love them.” He gave a twisted smile. “Then Jen wouldn’t seem like an exotic toy to all of you, and we could live with one another.” Mammon nodded, and moved out of the alcove. 

They continued walking, and Mammon asked, “How did ya find out? She was good at keepin’ away from us.”

Lucifer grinned. “Ever seen her drunk?”

Mammon stood stock still in the middle of the floor. “If you are telling me that you took advantage of her,” lightning sparked as Mammon was close to losing control, “brother or not, I will fucking end you.” Lucifer rolled his eyes. 

“Of course not, idiot. There was a concert in the Human Realm, some idol group that Diavolo wanted me to screen as a potential demon conversion. Jen was there to do whatever it is that Jen does.” 

————————-

_119 years ago_

Lucifer was bored out of his mind. He hated pop idol music, but Diavolo was insistent that they diversify the music offerings in hell. (“We can’t just have heavy metal and chamber orchestras, Lucifer!”). He wished he could have just shoved this off on Leviathan, but he had a dress parade to attend. 

The opening act had just finished, and the main event was about to start. Lasers circled the arena, and glow sticks danced in the stands. The screams of twenty thousand teenaged fans (and the groans of one thousand parental escorts) filled the air. He had been backstage, watching the band interact with each other and their meet’n’greet fans. So far, Lucifer agreed with Diavolo’s assessment, these guys were ripe for corruption. It all came down to if they had any talent to perform. 

Deciding that he wouldn’t make through this evening without a drink, he made his way to the beer garden. He walked right by the bouncer at the entrance, and looked for a table that overlooked the stage. He smiled evilly when he saw his current favorite adversary sitting alone at a table. 

“Jen, I’d like to say I’m surprised to see you here, but this kind of vapid entertainment is just your speed, isn’t it?” She frowned at him as he sat at her table, uninvited. 

“Are you here to pick up bored and lonely soccer moms, Lucifer?” Jen returned. Lucifer eyed the two empty pint glasses in front of her, and raised a brow as a third was dropped off in front of her. “And I don’t remember asking you to join me.”

He signaled to the waiter and held up two fingers. The waiter nodded and hustled to the bar. “Why ARE you here? Shouldn’t you be swanning about hell, complaining that the food is too spicy?”

She frowned at him. “It IS too fucking spicy. Y’all take that hellfire thing too seriously.” She slammed back half of her beer and frowned at it. 

The waiter dropped off two pints in front of Lucifer. He paid the waiter and gave him a hefty tip. They wouldn’t be waiting between rounds tonight. “You didn’t answer my question.” He leveled a gaze at her. He felt the dip in her pride.

“I’m being stood up,” she mumbled. 

Lucifer was surprised. They might clash constantly, but he wasn’t unaware of how attractive and smart she was. He would never TELL her, of course, but he was honest with himself about it. “Did they pick the venue? Because if they picked this band and then left you alone, that’s sadistic. Even for me.”

She sighed. “Yeah, they picked it.” She slammed back the rest of her beer. He slid her his second beer. “Are you tryin’ to get me drunk, Luci?” Her eyes were starting to get a little unfocused. 

“Are you doing anything else tonight?” She snorted, shook her head, and took a more reasonable sip. 

The night passed companionably, and they had a reasonably good time, although both of them would deny it later if asked. Toward the end of the night, after countless beers, Jen stood up on unsteady legs. “I will be right back,” she announced to the room, (and to Lucifer’s delight) and wobbled past him. She lost her balance, and Lucifer reached out on instinct to catch her. 

Her hand brushed his bare wrist, as she swatted at him to tell him that she was _just fine, thank you!_ As Jen tottered her way to the restroom, Lucifer sat, shocked and dumbfounded. He thought quickly, knowing his time to deal with this was limited. He decided to do what he was best at. 

He’s going to repress this shit. He wasn’t going to tell anyone anything at all, he was keeping this all to himself. 

Jen swaggered herself back to the table. She pulled herself up to her full height, and looked down her nose at Lucifer. “I am going home,” she declared. “I am going to go home and I am going to text that guy and call him all _kinds_ of names that he’s gonna be so sorry about.” She turned to leave, and almost ended up on the floor. Lucifer face palmed. 

He stood with a sigh. “Come on. Let’s roll you home.”

She tried to narrow her eyes at him, but she just ended up squinting. “Wha’s innit for you?” she asked, suspiciously. 

_Well, for one thing, my brothers won’t murder me in my sleep._

“I get to remember every bit of your drunken rambling and I’ll bring it up whenever I feel like it,” he smirked. He was lucky that human beer didn’t affect him like Demonus. He wouldn’t be able to handle tonight if he was drunk. 

She thought for a minute, swaying alarmingly on her feet. She nodded decisively. “Sounds fair to me!” she said, cheerfully. She turned to march out of the beer garden, and he couldn’t help the small smile that crossed his face. 

——————-

Mammon chuckled at the story. He could see both of them being too stubborn to admit they were having a good time. Lucifer smiled, silently agreeing with him. 

Arriving at the Prince’s study, Lucifer raised his hand and knocked. Barbatos answered the door and ushered the two demons inside. 

“Everything is a GODDAMNED mess, Lucifer!” Diavolo was beside himself with stress and anger. Lucifer glanced at Barb, who subtly rolled his eyes. 

Lucifer bowed low. “My Lord, nothing can be as dire as you perceive. Let’s get Jen and Leviathan back here, and we’ll make a plan for tonight. 

———————-

“We were able to neutralize the group that was working with Nathan,” Uriel stated. He was sitting in a comfortable armchair across from Levi, who was currently sprawled out, hiding his face with a handheld video game. 

“There was a group?” Jen asked. “And it only took the two of you?” 

Uriel rolled his eyes at her. “We ARE archangels, you know. A couple of cherubs are nothing. Although we weren’t supposed to be away from the Celestial Realm at all right now, I thought it would be good practice for Seren to be able to fight without pulling punches.” 

“-and that’s how I bullied Uriel into letting me see you, finally.” Seren and Jen were sitting side-by-side, heads leaned together. Jen was soaking in the time with her child, knowing their time was limited. 

Number Two and Ajax hustled into the room. Number Two flew to Levi and chattered at him. Levi stood up quickly. “Jen, we’re being recalled. We gotta haul ass outside for the portal.” 

Jen nodded and hugged Seren tightly. “Thank you for sneaking away to check on me. Now get back there. You’re needed more there than with me.” 

Seren smiled, and whispered in her ear. “I’m so happy you’re finding your pieces.” They paused, and glanced at Uriel. He nodded, encouraging them. They looked back at Jen. “The reason you have a piece of heaven in you is because you did the ultimate act of good. Your soul is still a muddy mess, but you did it for the right reasons. So since you can’t go to heaven as a result, a little heaven came to you.” Seren smiled. 

“Be happy, Ma.” They stepped back, and Uriel placed his hand on their shoulders. Jen closed her eyes against the bright flash of light, and then they were gone. 

Levi had moved to stand beside her. He bumped his shoulder into hers, companionably. “C’mon, let’s go outside and catch a ride.” She nodded, and led the way to the deck. 

Levi walked behind her, once again checking out her ass. He decided not to remind her that she was still in her short robe. 

He needed the boost of envy that he’d get from his Brothers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There may be a delay updating the next two chapters. I’m headed out to the woods for camping and I’m not sure how good the mobile network coverage is. Everything is written, so you may see this updated at weird times/days this week.


	25. Students

Jen, Ajax, and Leviathan walked through the portal and into Lord Diavolo’s private study, Number Two dancing around their ankles. She was surprised to find herself here, as Diavolo was fanatical about his privacy. She glanced around quickly to see who else was there, when she felt Levi’s hand lightly touch the small of her back, guiding her away from the portal mouth so it could be closed.

The portal closed behind her, and she heard a muffled curse. Curious, she glanced back to Levi, only to see a smug expression and his eyes glowing as he fed on someone’s envy. She narrowed her eyes at him, and he immediately pretended to look innocent. A voice snapped at her from across the room.

“As always, I am _dazzled_ by your fashion tastes, Jen,” Lucifer drawled from across the room. “Although, I will say that I am surprised by today’s ensemble. Were clothes just too hard to handle today?” He ran his eyes down her exposed legs and bare feet. She would’ve taken offense, but he told her less than a week ago that he liked her toes.

So she made a point to wiggle them into the carpet, catching the flare in his eye as he watched.

She turned to Lord Diavolo apologetically. “I beg your pardon, My Lord. I had a little angel problem to deal with and was in the middle of cleaning up when we were interrupted.” She sent him a small grin, “Also, please excuse me for not bowing. Permission to retire to my rooms to prepare for the audience tonight?”

Diavolo nodded regally, with a twinkle in his eye. “Of course. The admiral is perfectly capable of debriefing us on the situation. I will see you tonight.” She bowed her head slightly, and turned to walk out of the study. “Oh, Jen!” he called. She paused, hand on Ajax’s back.

“The dress code tonight is _clothing_.”

She burst out in laughter, continuing on her way. Mammon shifted as if to join her. “No, General. Jen is capable of walking through my home all by herself. You stay,” the Prince ordered. 

Grinning to herself, she let herself into the hall, and she and Ajax started the long walk to the wing where her rooms were. Ajax was in a playful mood, and was bounding about the hallway, pouncing on invisible spirits, and generally acting like the playful pup he was. Jen grinned, it was nice to not worry about anything attacking her.

Jen turned the corner to walk down her hallway, and her face spread into a happy smile. Leaning artfully against the door to her suite was none other than Asmodeus. He watched her approach with a joyful expression, his sunny disposition an antidote to the gloom of the hallway.

He held his arms out as she got closer to him. “Come hold me, you maddening creature. I’ve waited _forever_ for a proper hug from you!” She didn’t think her smile could get any larger as she was enfolded into his arms. They stood, happily holding each other, until Asmo caught a whiff of her hair. Horrified, he pulled back. “How long has that salt water been in your hair?!”

“A few hours,” she said, sheepishly.

His glare would have put Lucifer to shame. “Inside. Now,” he ordered. She nodded and waved her lock open. Ajax bounded into the room to take his place by the fire. Asmo all but pushed her into her bedroom. “Shower first! We need to get all of that salt off of you right now!” In a very business-like fashion he stripped her robe off of her as he pushed her into her bathroom. “Shower up. I’ll lay out your clothes for tonight.”

She chuckled, stripping her bra and underpants off in the privacy of her bathroom. She started up the shower and stepped in. She breathed a sigh of relief as she scrubbed the encrusted salt off of her body and rinsed it out of her hair. She was reaching for her shampoo, when an arm reached out from behind her, grabbing it before she could.

“Did you honestly think that I wouldn’t react to seeing you in that very cute, yet tiny, robe?” Amso purred into her ear. “Or that I didn’t see how gorgeous you looked in just your bra and panties?” She felt her body reacting to his words, and her breath became shallow. _Jesus,_ she thought, _he hasn’t even touched me yet!_ She found herself holding still, waiting to see what he would do next.

Still standing behind her, he poured the shampoo into his hand, clicking the cap shut and placing the bottle back in a practiced move. He rubbed his hands together, and started massaging her scalp, carefully keeping his body away from hers. Once he deemed her hair properly washed, he lightly grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. “It’s time to rinse,” he said, smiling. Using his body to back her further into the spray, he methodically ran his hands through her hair, making sure all of the shampoo rinsed cleanly out of her hair. 

While he was concentrating on her hair, Jen took full advantage of his distraction to admire his naked form. He was more lightly built than his brothers, but no less defined. She was salivating at the chance to touch him, but she understood the rules he had silently set. She couldn’t touch. 

Smirking as he sensed the spike in her arousal, he leaned around her to turn the water off. He gave her an open mouthed kiss on her shoulder, then stepped back. “Ok, let’s get you dry!” he sang.

Laughing internally at her expression, he stepped out of the shower and made a show of making sure that _every_ part of him was dry, taking note of the places her eyes would linger. They didn’t have time today to play, but ohhh he couldn’t wait until he had her beneath him. Or over him. He wasn’t picky. 

He held his hand out, and she grabbed it. He helped her out of the shower, and then in a change from the sensual pace of the shower, he toweled her off vigorously until she burst into giggles. He dropped a chaste kiss on her mouth, and smiled at her. “Let’s get dressed. We have things to chat about, and you, my sunset rain, are too distracting right now.”

She smiled back, nodded, and stepped back. It was that move that opened Asmo eyes to the truth he’d longed denied himself.

He’d been in love with Jen long before he knew she was his. 

She never pushed, and she didn’t demand, and she never judged. She let Asmo just _be._

He knew that she would never presume to ask him to be faithful, but if he was being honest with himself, no one else would be good enough ever again. She would never ask, but he would do it regardless. She was worth it.

With a towel wrapped around her, she led the way into the bedroom. Asmo had found her uniform in the back of the closet and had laid it on the bed, along with the appropriate undergarments. She sighed and looked over her shoulder. “Really?” 

He hummed at her. “Really, really. The Demon Lord likes the look of them.” His smile took on a wicked gleam. “Plus your legs look AMAZING in that skirt.” He turned away and tossed on the clothes he was previously wearing. “Hurry, my heart, I want to talk with you, but I still need to get ready myself.” He walked into the living room. 

Jen hurried and changed, draping a dry towel over her shoulders to keep her wet hair from soaking her uniform. She grabbed a pair of heeled Mary Janes from her closet and carried them to the living room. 

Asmo smiled as she entered, and waved her over to sit next to him. She sat with her back to him and handed him a comb. He hummed with happiness, and started to work the tangles out of her wet hair. “I am very proud of you, you know,” he said. 

Jen blinked a couple of times. “What?” She was at a loss to think of what she had down to cause that statement. He tsk’d at her. 

“Do you know,” he began, casually, “that it took me at least five hundred years to build the foundation of my network with the nobles?” Continuing to comb her hair, he said, “You built a network that was four times as large, and probably more reliable, in a hundred years.”

“Oh. That.” 

“Yes, _that,_ ” he teased. “Do you have time to tell me the story tonight?” Her hair now combed through, he murmured a little cantrip to make it dry, and he started braiding it. 

“Um, a ton of it was Reggath introducing me to the correct people, but a good chunk of it was RAD, actually.” She smiled when he made a surprised sound. “Do you know how many lower demons were brought in from the layers to work here for that? How many were away from home for the first time? It was easy to make a friendly connection by helping a maid clean up a mess a noble deliberately made, or help a mechanic rewire a tractor.”

He wound the braid about her head, fascinated. “And so when they went back home…”

“They spread the word about me, that I was honest and would pay a fair price for information. I settled Reggath in the customs office at the freight portal, and he would ‘redirect’ goods to a different warehouse that we would then use to pay informants.” She grinned. “I may have accidentally made your life a little harder sometimes with that.”

He snorted, elegantly. Done with her hair, he removed the towel from around her shoulders, then pulled her back against his chest. “What do I care if some noble house lost a bunch of human realm goods? They can afford the hit.” He nuzzled her neck, just behind her ear. “Did you have something to do with those ‘impoverished lesser noble children’ scholarship students?”

She sighed happily, snuggling into his arms. “Yep. RAD was a good opportunity for them, so I covered the costs of their uniforms, and Simeon watched over them at Purgatory Hall.”

Asmo was once again struck by the sheer luck that landed this woman in their lives. “You are too good for hell, my love.” She laughed at that. 

“I grew into it.” They sat a while longer, enjoying being close. 

Asmo looked at his D.D.D., and sighed. “I’m sorry, sunflower. I need to go get ready for that audience.” She sat forward, letting him stand up. He bent down to kiss her gently. “I’ll see you at seven, lollipop.”

She pulled back. “Wait, what?” It was only noon. “Why did I get ready so early?!”

“So I could do your hair, of course!” Asmo cried. “I already have to cut my routine short as it is!” He winked at her as she threatened to throw one of her shoes at him. He blew her several kisses and left the suite. 

Jen smiled and shook her head. She walked into her bedroom to grab her D.D.D. from the drawer. Still no message from Reggath, but Satan had sent one, checking on her. 

She texted Satan back, inviting him to her rooms to keep her company until the audience tonight. She also sent a quick note to Barb to see if she was still at his mercy when it came to food. It had been a very long morning. 

A knock sounded on her door a short time later. She opened the door to see Satan holding a couple of bags from Hell’s Kitchen. Her stomach gave an appreciative rumble, and they both grinned. 

“Thank you thank you thank you!” Jen exclaimed. 

Satan smiled. “I couldn’t let you starve, all locked in your tower,” he teased. He walked over to the dining nook with the bags, and started setting up the meal for the both of them. She grabbed a couple of drinks from her mini fridge and set them on the table. 

When she moved to sit down, he stopped her. “Wait,” he said. He shifted the stuff on the table so they could sit side by side, instead of across from each other. He held the chair out for her, and pushed it in as she sat. He sat down next to her. 

She smiled. For as long as she’s known him, Satan has always arranged things so he could sit next to her at meals they shared. She’d never noticed until just now, she had chalked it up to Satan wanting to piss Lucifer off. She reached for her drink. 

He reached out and gently intercepted her hand. He held her hand between his own, his eyes closed, savoring the moment. He was never an angel, but like her, he had always had a piece of heaven in his soul. It now sang to him as it connected with her. 

Jen’s expression was soft when he opened his eyes and looked at her. “I would have told you, had I known,” she said. He chuckled. 

“I had my suspicions. Your arrival in hell was too coincidental. Then when I saw you side by side with the Lilith candidates, all I could see was how much of a better fit you’d be.” He shook his head. “I never met her, but I can’t imagine that she’d be pleased at how watered down her spirit became.”

Jen tugged her hand away from him and grabbed some food. “In their defense, most of them were barely adults when they were here.” She took a bite, chewed and swallowed. “Most of the ones who died of old age turned out to be quality people.” He hummed at that, and the two of them continued eating in companionable silence. 

When they were done, they cleaned up the table together, then moved to a couch. Ajax eyed Satan dubiously. They had never achieved more of a relationship than a mutual agreement to tolerate each other. Satan pulled Jen into his side, and addressed the hellhound. “While I still think cats are better, you’ve done a good job looking after our lady. Thank you.” Ajax sniffed at that, and pointedly turned away. 

Jen chuckled, and snuggled further into Satan’s embrace. Despite Mammon’s warning that so much touching so soon could get overwhelming, she found herself craving contact, like a starving person in the desert. “I assume the twins or Mammon updated you?” she asked. 

He snorted. “All three of them, and it was just the clusterfuck you’d expect.” He told her about the chaos of the morning. Then his demeanor turned serious. “I hate that you are out in the bowels of this forsaken place. Hell is fucking _bleak_ , Jen. Human souls are tortured in the worst ways imaginable. My brothers and I have overseen our fair share of it, too.” He blew out a breath, recalling what he’s seen and done. 

She nodded. “That’s a fair point. I still have nightmares about the first time I saw a punishment on the third layer, before Diavolo granted me the sight to see why a soul was being punished.” 

She had been having a perfectly pleasant conversation with a demon, when he looked at a human soul passing by. “Oh, Paul, that’s right it’s Monday. Don’t you have a task to do?” the demon had asked, conversationally. The soul looked stricken, tore off its arm and handed it to the demon, and had moved to the pile of mechanics garbage outside the door and proceeded to eat it, gagging and bleeding. Diavolo gave her the sight that night. 

In life, the soul had stolen money from a charity for hungry people to buy cars for itself. So now it was forced to eat car parts for eternity. 

The arm was because the demon thought it was funny. 

Satan sat in thought. “You were magnificent working that human over, though.”

She chuckled. “That was easy because he was rich. He couldn’t imagine that someone would actually hurt him. Poor folks don’t break under torture. You pay them for information.” Satan squeezed her in a hug. 

“You know you don’t have to do this.” She figured that she’d hear this argument from them for all time. She still got it from Belphegor when she’d show up with her crew to clean up his messes, and he’s known for seventy years. 

“I do. In my own way, I make the realm a better place. The common folk are finally being heard. The distribution of human souls has become more equitable. And while demons will always be demons, and therefore be unpredictable, the realm is now more stable than it’s been in millennia.” He heard the pride in her voice, and wondered if that was why Lucifer gave her such a hard time. 

“Fine, kitten, I concede the point today.” He smiled into her hair. “We have several hours before we need to be anywhere, would you like to read a book with me?” he asked, hopefully. 

She smiled. “Absolutely.”


	26. Good Night Devil

Satan and Jen walked down to the main audience chamber, separating to head to their separate places when they arrived. Satan had to stand with his Brothers, Jen to stand to the side of the main dais. She had never met the Demon Lord before, but she’s had the protocol for this drilled into her head since her arrival. 

No one sits, not even Lord Diavolo ( _especially Lord Diavolo_ , Jen thought). The Brothers, as a mark of favor, stand to the right of The Prince. Barbatos, slightly behind him and to the left. The Court fills in the rest of the floor, with honored guests standing in front of them. 

It took years for the etiquette team to figure out where to place Jen. As a resident of the Devildom, she wasn’t really an honored guest; she was a Lady of the Court, but she wasn’t a demon. They eventually agreed that she would stand just off the main dais, all the way to stage right. She would be seen as privileged, but still be out of the way. 

The Court milled about in their places anxiously. It was rare for the Demon King to make an appearance, and it almost never bode well for them. Solomon was present as well, as an honored guest. He tipped her a wink when he entered with Raphael, Simeon, and Luke. Jen swore she heard growling from the dais, but she couldn’t turn around to look. 

All of the demons were in their demon forms, as befitting a formal occasion, and the angels were in their vestments, wings put away. Jen sighed internally, cranky about having to wear her uniform. It was hot, heavy, and ridiculous. And every time she pulled it out of the back of the closet, yet another medal had mysteriously appeared on the breast of the jacket. 

It just felt tacky. 

The Court Herald screamed for order, and the assembly shut up instantly. The Herald stepped forward to the middle of the room, and stamped his staff three times on the floor. 

“My Lord Prince Diavolo, My Lords the Avatars, Honored Guests, Lords and Ladies of the Court; His Royal Highness, the Lord of Demons, and His Consort Mate approach.” He screamed. 

Jen suppressed the giggles that threatened every time the Herald screamed an announcement, and tried to focus on the part that caused a wave of confusion through the assembled. 

The Demon Lord has a Mate. She forced herself to keep looking forward, although she was dying to look at Diavolo. The rest of the Court certainly was. Judging by their expressions, he wasn’t giving them anything to gossip about. 

The Herald marched exactly four steps forward, tail held high. He then spun in place, exactly five times, and exited the room stage left. Satan had once told her that the spinning wasn’t required, but the Herald liked it, so they let him do it. 

A hush fell over the crowd as two figures walked forward toward the dais. Jen forgot all about court propriety as her jaw dropped. Michael the Archangel, in full glory, was walking solemnly forward on the arm of none other than her friend and closest thing to family that she has in hell. 

A demon who was unmistakably Reggath was standing in full demonic glory in front of all assembled. Only it wasn’t the Raggath she had been working with for a century. The Reggath she knew was large, red, with pointy ears and always had a grin on his face like he was ready for trouble. 

The Reggath standing now arm in arm with an archangel in front of all assembled was even larger, with a huge double set of dragon wings, his skin dark, and his expression fury itself. He dripped in jewels and gold, and even as dead to magic as she was, she could feel it rolling off of him in waves. 

As one, the entire assembly knelt before him, heads lowered. Michael let go of his arm and stepped back. The Demon Lord paced the length of the assembly, inspecting them. In times past, this is traditionally when favors are granted and executions occurred. Jen felt like she was holding her breath with the rest of the court. She didn’t dare look up. 

A pair of taloned feet stopped in front of her. “Lady Jen,” a voice rumbled like thunder above her. “You are well-favored. Take your place among your men.” She looked up at him as she stood, and almost fainted with relief as he tipped her a subtle wink.

She executed a full Court curtsy, and climbed the dais to join the Brothers. She knelt between Lucifer and Mammon, the latter subtlety nudging her with his elbow in support. 

The Demon Lord continued his inspection of his court, executing outright two nobles that Jen had under investigation. He then approached the Brothers on the dais. “Lord Lucifer. You are a right pain in my ass. Stand.” Lucifer stood, gaze lowered respectfully. “You and your Brothers have served my son faithfully for millennia. You have challenged him, you have supported him. You have made him stronger. And for that, you are well-favored.” He paused. “I release you from your bonds of servitude, in hopes that you will become his friends and allies in full, as Barbatos is.” 

There was a snap in the air, like a rubber band breaking. The Brothers all shuddered, as all of their outstanding pacts broke. A groan came from the Honored Guests section, as Solomon’s pact with Asmodeus dissolved. 

Lucifer, being Lucifer, showed no outward signs of discomfort. He bowed to the Demon Lord in acknowledgement. The Demon Lord waved for him to kneel once more, and turned to face his son. 

“Diavolo, you are well-favored, my beloved son. Rise, and never again kneel to me.” Jen heard the tone in Reggath’s voice change. He truly loved his son. She wished she could look at them so she could see Diavolo’s face. 

“Thank you, Father,” Diavolo answered. 

“I foresee no problems abdicating my throne to you this night,” the Demon King stated. “I do owe you an introduction to my Mate. The explanation can wait until later.”

The Court Herald appeared out of thin air. “ALL RISE!” he screamed. 

Everyone in the room stood, and faced the Demon King. Reggath held his hand to Michael, and Michael stepped forward and placed his hand in his. “My son, my Mate, the archangel Michael.” Gasps sounded throughout the room but were quickly smothered. Diavolo betrayed no emotion as he bowed toward his father’s mate. Michael bowed in return. 

“And now that is done,” the Demon Lord said, “I formally abdicate the throne in favor of my beloved son, Diavolo. All rights, duties, responsibilities, and privileges are yours, although I reserve the right to counsel you without filter, as all fathers do.” Another heavy load of magic descended onto the assembly, as all of the demons felt the power of the realm transfer ownership. 

The Court Herald screamed, “ALL HAIL THE NEW DEMON LORD DIAVOLO, THE FIRST OF HIS NAME!” The entire assembly knelt again, only this time to Diavolo’s direction. He bowed in return. 

“SPREAD THE WORD THROUGHOUT THE DEVILDOM!” The Herald screamed. “COURT IS ADJOURNED!” The Herald spun in place six times, and then wobbly made his exit. 

Mammon assisted Jen to her feet, and turned toward Lucifer. “Are ya ok, bro?” Mammon was a little shaky on his feet, he had just lost the connections to a handful of powerful covens. 

“I should be asking you this,” Lucifer replied, placing a hand on his brother’s back. He turned to check on the rest of his brothers, and saw that they were more or less in good shape. 

“My Lady, King Diavolo requests your presence in his private audience chamber. You may bring your escorts.” Barbatos bowed at her with a wink. 

“Of course, please let him know that I am on my way.” Jen turned to the Brothers. “None of you are sworn to serve the king anymore, but I am. You don’t need to come with me.” The amount of scoffing and eye-rolling that met that statement was astronomical. “Fine,” she huffed, and walked behind the dais to the private room. 

Reggath had reverted to the form she knew him best in, and was sitting on a small couch with Michael, who had pulled his wings in. Diavolo was sprawled inelegantly in an armchair, and Barb was at the bar making drinks for everyone. 

Jen bowed after she entered, and Diavolo waved a lazy hand at her. “Not you, Jen. Never when it’s us. I wouldn’t even be in this position if it wasn’t for you.” He glanced at the Brothers behind her. “Or for you all, as well.” He grabbed the tumblr of Demonus that Barb handed him. “I am hoping beyond hope that you all still want to be on the Council. As wonderful as she is, Jen can’t do it alone.”

Lucifer snorted. “What else are we going to do? We go where she goes. And for some stupid reason, she plead loyalty to you.” He smiled at his friend. “I stopped being just a servant to you a long time ago, and I know my brothers feel the same.” Nods all around the room. 

Jen picked the chair closest to Reggath, and glared at him. “I’m mad at you.” He laughed and leaned over to pat her hand. 

“Jen, I am so glad I’ve spent the last century working for you. You’re brilliant and driven, and I’m happy every day that God and I decided to step in and stop you from going to Oblivion.” Completely aware of the bomb he dropped on the table, he continued, “You still need to come see the spawn. They ask about you.”

That caught Diavolo’s attention. “You have spawn? Why didn’t you tell me? That takes the pressure off of finding an heir.”

Reggath shrugged and held Michael’s hand. “They’re not in contention for the throne. They budded after I lost all of that power locking Gabriel away. They’re lower caste.” Michael looked at Reggath with adoration. 

Diavolo watched how comfortable Jen and his father were with each other, and of his father’s new form as a lower caste demon. “Ah. You’re Reggath. I know Jen had been working with a lower caste demon for some time, but I didn’t know it was you.” 

Reggath grinned. “I had fully intended on it being a one-time meeting, just to see how she was settling in. But then we had so much fun stealing that gremlin’s truck, I just couldn’t help but join up.” She smiled, reluctantly. 

“I don’t know what I’m going to do without you,” she said, sadly. “I hadn’t planned on replacing you.”

He looked insulted. “Oh I am not going _anywhere_ , babygirl. I’ve done more for this realm in the last century than I was ever able to do before. You’re still my boss. I have no status now.” He puffed up at her, and she laughed. 

Diavolo marveled at the way they interacted with each other, but there was a more pressing question, it is was sitting right next to his father. “Care to explain your mate?”

Michael put his hand on Reggath’s thigh. “We’ve been mated for several millennia. As for explaining it, we don’t know. Mates just happen. And now that he is no longer king, we can be in the open.” He cut eyes over to Lucifer, “And no, I won’t be Falling. We have Father’s Blessing.”

“I know it doesn’t matter for much, but you have mine, too,” Jen commented. “You’re an asshole, Michael, but you’re doing your best for the kids up there, and I appreciate that.” Lucifer walked around to stand behind Jen, his hand falling onto her shoulder. 

“I promise you that I will give you all kinds of shit later for this, Michael,” he said. “But Jen’s comment reminded me that we need to take care of Gabriel. He can’t be allowed to rampage like this. And he certainly can’t be allowed to get his hands on Jen.” Jen twisted in her seat to glare at him, but stopped when she saw the earnest look on his face.

Michael nodded. “The reason Gabriel broke free is that his bindings weakened when God turned his attention from them to create the twenty-three new angels.” Everyone’s jaw dropped at that news. 

“But I thought…” Jen started, but both Michael and Reggath shook their heads. 

“You took on all of their sins, and when he noticed them and their potential, and the sacrifice you made, he couldn’t pass it up.” Michael smiled at her. “But He had to save face. He had spent the last several millennia refusing to make new angels, because He couldn’t take his attention off of Gabriel.”

“So he asked for my help,” Reggath took over the story. “We both agreed that Oblivion was not appropriate in your case. I sent my minions to you to present your choice to you, and luckily, you chose correctly.” He smiled at her. 

“But what about my punishment, why was I punished?” Jen slouched in her chair, Lucifer’s grip on her shoulder tightened. 

Both Michael and Reggath leered at her. “Does it actually _feel_ like a punishment? Or does it seem like something you were easily able to work around?” 

Jen put her head in her hands. “Oh my fuck, I am so stupid.” She looked up at Diavolo. “May I be excused? I just can’t handle this tonight.”

He nodded, “Please meet us in the Council chamber tomorrow, we’ll be discussing the plan for Gabriel.”

She stood and bowed, and walked out without a word to anyone else in the room. Diavolo and his father chuckled at the seven sets of eyes that followed her. 

“Go to her, gentlemen. She needs you more than I ever will.”

A stampede would have quieter as the seven men exited the room. He grinned at his dad. 

“Well, dad. You’ve managed to explain the last 120 years in ten minutes. Did you want to be the one to tell them that the prophecy is bullshit, or should we just let that ride?”

Michael, Reggath, and Barbatos all chuckled. “Luke and Seren made up another jump rope rhyme, something about devils going to bed, when you’re ready for them to try for a baby,” Michael joked. 

Diavolo roared with laughter. “I’d hate to see the state of the realm if Jen gets pregnant!”

Michael shook his head, a smile on his face. “I _already_ deal with a child of Jen’s. Seren is headstrong, stubborn, smart, and powerful. We are very lucky that their default personality trait is ‘kindness’.” He frowned, “They do think they’re funny, though, and that can be unfortunate.”

Barbatos brought drinks to Reggath and Michael. “Do you think they’re able to take down Gabriel?” he asked Michael, before grabbing his own drink and sitting down. 

Michael thought for a minute, idly lacing his fingers with Reggath’s. “If we were talking a few hundred years from now? Easily.” Diavolo raised his eyebrows at that. “But now? No, not alone. Although, Uriel reported that they took out a nest of cherubs this morning alone, although he was there as back up if necessary.” Michael pursed his lips in thought (Reggath took the opportunity to sneak a kiss), “I think we need to stay within the resources we have on hand this time.”

Diavolo nodded, “I think it’s best that I not drain myself, I don’t have a trained heir.” He slammed back his drink, and stood up. He sent his father a wink. “Good night, Devil. Make me an heir, would you?”

Reggath leered at Michael, making Barbatos laugh. “I’ve been TRYING!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s all coming together *rubs hands gleefully*


	27. Arabian Nights

Jen slammed her way into her rooms, went straight to her bedroom. She kicked her shoes across the room and her uniform jacket went flying after them. She threw herself face down on her bed, face buried into a pillow. She wanted to cry out of anger and frustration. 

The Brothers arrived in her hallway just in time to hear the door to her suite slam open and shut. Satan closed his eyes and reached out, but her wrath wasn’t as much as he had expected. He blinked his eyes open, only to see his brothers staring expectantly at him. He shook his head. 

“She’s not primarily angry, she’s upset, but it’s nowhere near the levels I’d expect.” They all nodded. Beel raised his hand to unlock her door. Belphie stepped forward. 

“I’ll head in first, Ajax won’t try to eat me.” The Brothers stood back. Beel unlocked the door, and Belphie walked into the mass of wiggles that was an excited Ajax.

The other six brothers entered the suite, making the small suite feel even smaller. Mammon signaled everyone to assemble at the couches in the living room. 

Once everyone was settled (Belphie sat on the hearth with Ajax), Mammon spoke up, his voice low. “I promised her that we had her back, that we’d never let her be alone again.” He leaned forward, hands on his knees. “Problem is, her damn pride will stop her from asking for a shoulder to cry on.” Satan picked up on what Mammon was saying. 

“Someone needs to go in there and make her realize that she has seven sets of shoulders ready for her.” He cut his eyes over to Lucifer. Asmo nodded. 

“She really needs someone who understands what it’s like when pride gets in the way.” Beel and Belphie just grinned, and stared at Lucifer. 

Lucifer scoffed, and placed his hand on his chest. “I get nothing out of going into that room.”

Levi let out a low laugh. “That’s bullshit, Lucifer. You’ve been powering me up since we walked through that portal this morning.” He looked at Lucifer, face serious. “You are the best of us to go to her now.” 

Lucifer looked at all of his brothers, and saw the same looks of affection and exasperation on all of their faces. He stood. “Fine,” he said, “but you can’t always foist the emotional problems on me all of the time. It’s someone else’s turn next time.” He moved to the bedroom door followed by the sounds of low male laughter. 

Jen was still face down on her bed. With her head buried in the pillows, she didn’t hear the bedroom door open and close. She didn’t hear the footsteps that crossed the room. She felt the mattress dip, and figured it was just Ajax. So she was pretty surprised when she felt a hand lightly run up and down her back. 

Startled, she turned her head to the side. Lucifer was sitting next to her on her bed, back against the headboard, legs straight in front of him. He moved his hand back to his lap. He simply looked at her. 

She twisted on the bed, until she was in the same position as him, against the headboard. They sat side by side, each too stubborn to break the silence. 

Finally, Lucifer sighed. “You are a stubborn fool.”

She sniffed. If he had said any other thing, she wouldn’t have relaxed. But this? This she could handle. “I wouldn’t want to go off-brand.” He snorted. 

“Do you know that I don’t have to go out and feed my sin for weeks after I deal with you?” Lucifer said, conversationally. “Your pride is a thing to behold.”

Jen sighed, he wasn’t telling her anything she didn’t already know. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She bent her forehead to her knees. “So?” she challenged. 

He reached out and cupped the back of her head with his hand. “So… it actually hurts me when it takes the hits you’ve been taking.” He slid his hand from her head to her shoulder and tugged her to lean against him. “You are not stupid. You are not naive. You are one of many victims of my Father’s inability to communicate effectively.” Rubbing her shoulder with his hand, he squeezed her into a one armed hug. 

He sighed. “You are also a supreme pain in the ass, and I think I’ve aged a million years over the last few days over everything I’ve learned about what you do.” 

She lifted her head and leaned it against the headboard, her face angled up to look at him. He looked her in the eyes and continued, “It terrifies me that you are running around hell, being exposed to horrors, violence, and danger. My heart hurts finding out that you’ve seen and experienced things that in a just timeline, you would have never seen.” He gave a half smile. “But damn if I’m not proud as hell of you.”

She lifted a skeptical eyebrow. “Honestly!” he protested. His smile turned lecherous. “I _loved_ watching you swing that bat,” he purred.

She smiled a genuine smile, to Lucifer’s relief. “Figures I’d have to appeal to your pervert side before you’d respect me.”

Lucifer leaned over, “You have _always_ had my respect, Jen.” Her eyes widened, and he took advantage of her speechlessness to do what he’s been wanting to do since the day he met her. 

He kissed her, gently at first, then more firmly when she leaned into him and kissed him back. She shocked him when she twisted in his hold and swung a leg over his lap to straddle him, never breaking the kiss. She ran her fingers through his hair on the back of his head, bringing him closer to her. 

Bemused at having control taken away from him, he simply just enjoyed the kiss, content to follow where she led. 

A laugh from the living room brought them crashing back to reality. Jen pulled away, and gave Lucifer a mock glare. “How many of them are out there?”

He pretended to look sheepish, which was a hilarious look on the Avatar of Pride. “All of them?” He grinned at her sigh and head shake. “You should probably just move in with us, or ask for a bigger suite.”

“I _really_ don’t want that bedroom you shoved the exchange students into. I don’t want to be responsible for a stupid tree.” She let herself fall against his chest and he wrapped his arms around her. 

“I supposed we can remodel a couple of the guest rooms to make a suite big enough to hold your bed.” She made a questioning sound in her throat, not wanting to move. “You’re basically married to all seven of us. You’ll need a bed to hold us all.” He smiled as she laughed into his chest. 

She pushed herself up, and gave him a sweet kiss. “Thank you for taking one for the team and taking care of me tonight.”

He growled. “Make no mistake, if they weren’t in that room, I’d be taking care of you a MUCH different way.” 

She chuckled and bopped him on the nose. She swung her leg over his lap and slid off the bed. “Big talk from a man who just said he’d sleep in a puppy pile on my big old bed.” She walked to the door of the bedroom and placed her hand on the handle. She turned to Lucifer, still on the bed. “You’re not going to go all mushy on me now, are you?”

He snorted. “Not likely. I give it four hours before you irritate me.” She laughed and opened the door. 

—————-

_The next morning_

Jen woke up in a guest suite. Mammon’s prediction of so much touching becoming overwhelming came true last night as she woke in a panic, thinking she was trapped. 

The Brothers had all crashed in her suite. Belphie had snuggled up with Ajax on the hearth, Beel had claimed a couch, Satan had claimed the other, and Levi took the bathtub, which left the other three jammed on Jen’s bed with her. After so many years of sleeping alone, being unable to roll and stretch had freaked her out. 

Mammon woke up to her quiet panic, and silently rolled off of the bed and held a patient hand out for her. She got her breathing under control, and took his hand. He led her quietly out of her suite and down the hall to a neighboring guest suite. He pulled the covers back on the bed and got her settled. He kissed her forehead and walked across the room and promptly passed out in an armchair. 

Jen rolled herself quietly out of bed, trying to not wake up Mammon, as it was still fairly early in the morning. She padded lightly past him to exit the suite, only to be stopped when his arm shot out and grabbed her wrist. “Hey darlin’,” his voice gravelly from sleep. “Where ya headed off to so early?”

She stepped closer to him, and ran her fingers through his hair. “I’m awake, but I wanted to let you sleep more. I was going to head to the gardens,” she said, frowning when he started shaking his head. 

“Not alone, you’re not.” He released her wrist, and stood up. He stretched, and she could hear his joints pop. She immediately felt guilty because he slept in a chair. He eyed her, and like he knew what she was thinking, he leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “How’re ya feeling? Still overwhelmed or guilty ‘cause ya think you SHOULDN’T be overwhelmed?” He looked at her, knowingly. 

She gave an embarrassed smile. “I have no idea how I was able to keep things from you for so long.” He chuckled, and swung an arm around her shoulders.

“C’mon, I’ll take ya to the gardens. Knowing Barb, he’s probably already got breakfast laid out.” He led her out of the suite and into the gardens. 

Sure enough, Barbatos had laid out a feast in the largest clearing in the garden. He bowed at Mammon and Jen as they approached. They both fussed at him for bowing, and he just smiled and made their tea. He left them to serve themselves.

They sat in a companionable silence, both enjoying the quiet before the others descended. Jen was reaching for jam when a shadow covered the table, and she was roughly pulled from her chair. She saw that Mammon had flashed into his demon form, she could feel him drawing power into himself. 

“Let. Her. Go.” Mammon growled. Jen has never heard him speak in that tone of voice, like all of hell was behind it. 

“No, I don’t believe I will, demon,” a voice that sounded like a full orchestra answered. Something sharp poked against her throat, and Mammon stilled, not wanting to hurt her. The voice laughed, and its arm tightened around her. “This human and I have unfinished business to attend to.” Then as quick as she was grabbed, she found herself airborne, being held none too gently by angry arms. 

“Have you nothing to say?” hissed the voice. “You command a legion of demons, you made a full choir of angels, do you not think you’re equal to God Himself?” They were zipping across the landscape of hell.

“Where are you taking me?” she asked.

“I am taking you to where you should have gone in the _first place_ ,” he snarled. “We’re going to the ninth layer of hell, where your pathetic human brain is going to snap.” He laughed. “And then what will your precious legion do, when they see you reduced to a shivering, sniveling mess!”

_This is the exact reason no one knows about me_ , Jen thought, as always seeing the bright side of things. The ninth layer of hell was actually one of her favorite places.

And humans who end up there usually do lose their minds, because there’s no making sense of the creatures there. There’s no rhyme or reason to how they form, so they can look absolutely terrifying to the uninitiated. Luckily, Jen had spent enough time there that she’d come to enjoy the chaos. 

She was dropped to the ground abruptly, and she rolled on instinct. She turned to come face-to-face with a six winged angel she’s never seen before. “Oh,” she said, as if disappointed. “You must be Gabriel.” She sniffed looking him up and down. 

_Old Gabe isn’t looking too good, actually_ , she thought, surprised. His wings were ragged, his cheeks were sunken and his clothes were falling off of his body. He had a spark of madness in his eye that made her wary. 

He took a step forward, trying to back her up, but she stood her ground. “I am Gabriel,” he confirmed. “I am here to signal the end of your days.” His wings flapped restlessly. “Thanks to the curse Father has placed on you, I can’t simply kill you, or even remove you from existence to Oblivion.” He laughed, high pitched and unhinged. “So we’re going to drive you insane, instead.”

He stepped back, and Jen noticed they were in a large field. The field was full of horrifying creatures, their calls and cries the sounds of a thousand nightmares. 

Gabriel gave her a creepy smile. He turned to the assembled creatures and gave the command. 

“Feed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything ends tomorrow


	28. Obey Me

Mammon watched with the eyes of a warrior as Gabriel held a knife made of Celestial fire to Jen’s throat. He noticed Gabriel’s tattered wings, his sunken cheeks, his insane eyes, and most noticeably, his faded aura. 

This was not the same Gabriel they had fought millennia ago. His confinement had clearly weakened him. 

Mammon knew he still couldn’t take him alone, though, so he made a tactical decision that Jen would appreciate and his brothers would hate. 

He let Gabriel take Jen without a fight. 

He called his Brothers as he ran to the war room.

———————-

_The Night of the Ball_

Reggath lurked outside of the palace, amused that he was skulking around his own castle. Jen had a gut feeling that _something_ was going to happen tonight, and he’s learned to trust her instinct as well as his own. 

He eased around the corner of the building, outside of the retiring room Diavolo used to sneak out of formal events when he was younger. Movement in the window made him chuckle, as he saw Jen push open the window and perch on the sill. He heard voices from inside and saw her resigned expression, and grinned when he saw her hop back into the room. 

Something on the ground sparkled, catching his attention. Keeping his back against the building, he eased over to investigate. He saw the bloody letters on the ground, and went on full alert. He wasn’t worried about Jen, she was one of the most resilient beings he’s ever met. 

Someone has desecrated his palace. 

He grabbed his D.D.D. from his pocket and sent a code to his teams. He would lead a team in the catacombs himself, while the teams inside the castle would report to Jen. He eased around a corner, on his way to the secret entrance of the catacombs. He felt a warmth in his soul that could only mean that his beloved mate was close by. 

“My love,” a voice sounded in the darkness. Reggath smiled as he approached his mate. “There’s trouble tonight.” Reggath stood before Michael, aware that there may be many faces watching. Michael handed him a bag. “This is a unicorn head. You know what this means.” Michael looked worried. 

Reggath chuckled, and patted Michael on the shoulder. “We’ve taken care of him before, and we’ll do it again. He’s been trying to kill her and start another war for a century.”

Michael shook his head gravely. “He’s found out that she’s to be released from her vows tonight. He fears she’ll bind the Seven with pacts.” Reggath snorted. 

“You and I both know she won’t do it,” he said, comfortingly. “You wanted her to make a pact with me, and she’s refused every opportunity.”

Michael’s brow was still creased with worry. “I worry for _you_ , love.” Reggath started to scoff, but Michael shut him up by pulling him in for a kiss. He pulled away and leaned their foreheads together. “Don’t be foolhardy and stupid tonight. Gabriel is unhinged, and even Father is concerned.”

“Not concerned enough to destroy him, though, is he?” 

Michael took on a scolding tone. “You know he can’t interfere.” 

“Can’t or won’t, I wonder.” 

Disinclined to rehash an old argument, Michael pulled away. “I need to track down some rogue angels tonight.” He started to turn, and stopped. “Can you please make sure that Raphael, Simeon, and Luke stay here tonight? I don’t trust the portal guards.” 

“But the two choirs you have in there are fine?” Reggath asked with a raised eyebrow. Michael usually favored all angels above all other beings. 

Michael’s face turned stern. “Those are all angels who sympathize with Gabriel. I expect them to change their tune when they see what he does with their own eyes.” 

They sent each other a pulse of affection down their bond, and separated. 

—————— 

“AND YOU JUST LET HIM FUCKING TAKE HER?!” Satan roared at Mammon, his wrath close to the surface. “How do you know she’s still even on this plane?!” He was pacing like a caged creature, his tail snapping like a whip. 

Mammon stood straight and tall by the map of the realm. “I stand by my decision. Gabe’s weak, his aura is messed up. He can’t handle the portals alone. He’s still in hell.” He looked at the assembled crowd. “He is still a Power, and there’s no way I could’ve handled him alone AND keep Jen safe.” 

Lucifer nodded, agreeing with Mammon. “He’s still in hell. The question is, is he alone?” He looked at Michael and Raphael. “Can you tell?” 

Michael hummed, and Raphael’s eyes unfocused as he searched for angel auras. “The angels that were sympathetic to Gabriel’s cause were handled the night of the ball. He’s alone,” Michael said. Raphael’s eyes refocused, and he nodded, confirming Michael’s assessment. 

Reggath stood, and the assembly turned their attention to him. He may no longer be their ruler, but he had literally eons of experience and no one knew Jen better than he did. “I’ve reached out to Jen’s network to keep an eye out, but even I don’t know all of her contacts.” He looked at his son. “Our team’s bribe budget is good, but we may have to ask the crown for a loan.” 

Diavolo nodded, “I don’t think the treasurer would say no to that.” Mammon saluted Reggath. 

Asmodeus spoke up. “I’m working my network, but I doubt he’s going to be bringing her in sight of any estates.” 

Belphegor cut in, “Beel and I are going to work up Satan and get him nice and pissed off. Send for us when you have a plan.” Beelzebub and Belphie left the room, Beel grabbing Satan on the way out and throwing him over his shoulder. 

Leviathan addressed the room, “I need to head to the House of Lamentation. I’ll be able to read the ocean and manage operations from there.” At Diavolo’s nod, he left. 

The remaining people in the room gathered around the map and slowly dissected each layer piece by piece, to try and discover where Gabriel had taken Jen. 

—————- 

Luke was sad and bored and upset and worried. He wasn’t allowed to go to the war room with the others, so he was waiting in the gardens. Jen was a very very good friend. Gabriel had always scared him, and Simeon would never allow Luke to visit him like the other angels did. What if he hurt Jen super bad?! That’s not what angels are supposed to do! 

He was fretting himself into a tizzy, when he felt a familiar presence tap his mind. 

_What’s up, small friend? I can feel your worry all the way here!_

“Seren!” Luke cried. “Everything is bad now! Gabriel is a bad guy for sure!” 

Luke could feel Seren’s amusement through their bond. _He’s never been a good guy to me, kiddo._ Luke blushed, remembering all of the times Seren had to hold their temper around the other archangel. 

“Yeah but now he kidnapped Jen and is gonna try to do something bad!” In Luke’s upset state, he let out the one thing he was told not to say. 

_What_

_I am on my way_. And their connection died. 

Luke shivered at the coldness in the Seren’s tone. 

———————— 

_The night of the ball_

Reggath entered the catacombs, looking for Gabriel. He slid into a large chamber, and saw a crowd of demons being held in angelic bonds. 

Angelic bonds are a death sentence to lower demons. They constrict and tighten, then send their souls to Oblivion. The only way to stop them is death. Reggath didn’t even blink as he systematically killed every demon, but making sure they were still whole enough to regenerate. 

Jen was making him soft, he thought. In the past, he would’ve just let them disappear. 

He continued further into the catacombs. 

——————— 

Jen stepped back from the mad archangel, and took a good look at her supposed doom. Her eyes widened, and she gave a wicked grin. 

He had no idea where he had placed her. 

——————— 

“She’s on nine!” came a roar from Reggath, looking at his D.D.D. 

Lucifer stood at attention, “Where on nine?” 

Reggath grinned. 

——————- 

The creatures ran at her as fast as their misshapen bodies could go. They chattered and babbled inhuman noises and drool rolled out of their mouths and other openings. 

Jen stood strong and tall as she waited for the onslaught. 

—————— 

The Brothers gathered with Diavolo, Barbatos, and Reggath. It was decided to keep the angels out of this fight. As they prepped the portal, Diavolo gave one last instruction. 

“Keep the fight away from the field.” 

—————— 

Jen was tackled by several bodies at once, and as she went down, she saw Gabriel smirking. _Fucker_ , she thought. 

The creature that had her leg whistled for her attention. 

—————- 

_The night of the ball_

Reggath slid his way through the tunnels, seeing more and more signs that Gabriel had been through. By the feathers he was finding, the archangel was in some distress. 

His D.D.D. vibrated, catching his attention. “Yeah,” he answered. He listened for a minute. “Yeah, I think that’s a great idea. Move them to the fields on nine. I like what they do there.” 

Realizing that he was going to be tracking all night, he sent Jen a text, updating her. 

—————— 

The demons arrived on nine, just outside of the fields, and immediately spread out, Barbatos covering Diavolo. Mammon, Asmo, and Beelzebub launched to the sky, while the others followed on foot. 

While they were expecting to find Gabriel and Jen, they weren’t expecting to see what they found. 

Gabriel was hovering above a field, laughing maniacally while Jen was playfully wrestling with a crowd of demon spawn. 

Mammon stopped short in the sky, his brothers right behind him. “What the fuck?!” he blurted out. 

Gabriel heard him, and turned around, laughing. “Behold!” he called. “As we speak, your precious ‘missing piece’ is being mobbed by nightmares and monsters. No human has ever made it out of these fields sane!” He giggled, completely insane. “I can’t kill her, but I will break her! I will punish her! Judgement day is upon her!” He started laughing like a loon, until a hellhound the size of a house tackled him out of the sky. 

Jen was standing protectively in front of the demon spawn, most of whom were larger than she was, silver whistle hanging from her neck. “That’s about enough of that, motherfucker,” she snapped. “Ajax, to me.” Ajax reluctantly pulled away from his prey, and returned to help Jen guard the young. 

Gabriel was getting to his feet, only to be knocked back again by an angry ball of Wrath. Satan pummeled him with both his fists and his power, shredding one of Gabriel’s wings in the process. Gabriel gathered enough strength to push Satan back, and launched himself into the sky again. 

There he was met by the combined forces of Mammon, Asmodeus, and Beelzebub. It was a long and hard aerial battle, and Gabriel managed to twist away and tried to land. He found a trident lodged in his gut for his effort from Levi, and Belphegor launched himself into his back. Gabriel let out a blast of Celestial fire and beat them back. 

Lucifer rose into the sky to meet him, and drew his sword. Gabriel was bleeding ichor heavily, but he was also clearly insane. Lucifer gave himself a 50/50 chance of coming out of this fight unscathed. He raised his sword… 

A flash of light, like a comet, barreled down from above, a light so pure that it hurt Lucifer’s eyes. The light pulled up, and there floated a six winged angel warrior, in full armor, wielding the Flaming Sword. 

“GABRIEL, YOU HAVE BEEN JUDGED, AND SENTENCED. I AM YOUR EXECUTIONER.” 

Lucifer landed to get out of the way. Levi pulled his arm to catch his attention. “That’s Seren.” Lucifer’s eyes widened. He knew in theory that Seren was a Power, but to see it in Glory was on another level. 

Gabriel snarled and rose to confront Seren. “No jumped up human is ending ME.” He tried to pull his knife of Celestial power, but it wouldn’t summon to his hand. 

Seren stared at him, coldly. “All of your rights and privileges have been revoked. You do not get a choice to Fall. You are a waste of Power.” Their arm snapped out, and a wing was sliced off of Gabriel’s body. “And because you tried to fuck with my mom, I’m going to make this _hurt_.” Seren became a blur, as they systematically took Gabriel apart, piece by piece, the flaming sword sending each piece to Oblivion. 

When all that was left was a head on a torso, Seren slowed down. They walked slowly over to Gabriel, maintaining eye contact. “With the severing of your head, I commit thee to Oblivion.” And with a single swipe, they separated Gabriel’s head from his body, the flaming sword making each piece disappear. 

Seren tucked their sword away and gave themselves a shake, putting their wings away. An unassuming goth teenager with facial piercings now stood in front of them. The demons all stared, jaws dropped. Seren rolled their eyes at them. 

Jen removed herself from the overenthusiastic spawn and checked on everyone. Reggath gave her a wink, and dragged Diavolo over to the field to meet his spawn and their friends, a bemused Barbatos following behind. 

Satan was the worst of them, but he was healing quickly. She gave him a kiss, and heard a scoffing noise behind her that only teenagers could make. She walked toward the angel and gave them a giant hug. “How much trouble are you in right now?” Jen asked. 

Seren shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. If they didn’t want me to use it, then they shouldn’t have given me the sword already.” They shoved their hands into their black trench coat, and looked at the Avatars with thinly disguised annoyance. “I already had a Dad, God rest his soul, and now I have a Father,” Seren said, put out. “And now my mom wants to shack up with seven guys, all with their own daddy issues.” They huffed in annoyance, looking at their mom. “I need to go. I love you.” They gave Jen a kiss on her forehead, and walked through the group, pausing at Levi. “I’m still never going to call you Dad.” Grinning at Levi’s instant blush, Seren stepped back and disappeared in a flash of light. 

Ajax bounded up to Jen, and she made a fuss over how big and strong he was. Mammon walked over to her, yelling “Hey hey hey! I was strong, too!” She laughed and reached up and ruffled his hair. 

The Brothers all gathered around their missing piece, fussing and hugging. Reggath, Diavolo, and Barbatos watched from the field in amusement. 

“It’s going to be fun, watching Jen running that crew,” Reggath commented, cuddling one of his spawn. Barb laughed. 

“Indeed. And the best part is, she’ll make them think that they’re in charge.” 

Diavolo grinned, petting his brother, “I’m glad she’s on our side.” He turned his attention toward the spawn in the field and his face went thoughtful. 

“Hey, dad, do you think you can get Michael to tell you that jump rope song?” The three of them chuckled manically. “I’d love to see the Brothers brought low by a baby.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! When I first started this, it was going to be a series of interconnected short stories, each story corresponding to a day in the #obeyMAX calendar, and it evolved into this! 
> 
> I’m not done with Jen yet, though. 
> 
> I am leaving this marked as “unfinished” because I have to do some minor edits and clean the tags up (like correct Reggath’s name in his first few appearances).
> 
> Please comment below if you think I should continue Jen’s story in this work, or close this one out and start a new work. Please keep in mind that the updates will be weekly, not daily (that was brutal), and as a result, the new chapters will average 6k words and not 2k.
> 
> I have a special shoutout: thank you to RengeAkai for commenting on every single chapter from the very first day I hit publish.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Prelude to a Prophecy: Alternate scene of Chapter 15: Barbatos](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27125554) by [kimbert](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimbert/pseuds/kimbert)




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